New Delhi, Dec 24 (Inditop.com) Allaying concerns of the US and Britain over the new tourist visa regulations in India, the government has balanced security concerns with the convenience of tourists, but has incorporated extra layers of safeguards to avoid a repeat of 26/11 suspect David Headley’s abuse of tourist visa.
Indian officials have clarified the nature of new tourist visa rules to the US and Britain who fear that it could upset the travel plans of thousands of Britons and Americans who come to India every year, and often travel on to a neighbouring country from here.
Last month, the Ministry of Home Affairs, which supervises the presence of foreigners within the country, had sent revised guidelines to all Indian missions and consulates that bar any foreigner on tourist visa from returning to India within two months of leaving the country.
But the government has since then slightly amended these regulations that makes it possible for visitors to return to India within this cooling-off period of two months on certain conditions, official sources told IANS.
The plan is flexible enough to accommodate genuine tourists, the sources said.
Under the new rules, the visitors have to obtain a special permission from the head of the Indian mission in their country and provide certain documents to establish the legitimacy of their return visit, the sources said. They are also required to register within 14 days with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) if they return within two months of their departure.
The government has also found a way to address needs of genuine tourists coming in groups. They will be permitted 2-3 re-entries provided they make a full disclosure of their itinerary to the Indian mission/consulate when they apply for visa, the sources said.
They also have to provide an undertaking that they will use the visa for visiting specific places. The final decision will rest with the head of Indian mission in that country, who will decide on the merits in consultation with the ministry of home affairs.
Under previous rules, tourists on long-term visas had to leave the country every 180 days.
The revision of visa rules was prompted by disclosures following the arrest of Headley, a Pakistani-American, by the US authorities that he had repeatedly travelled to India to identify targets for the Nov 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks.
The government has clarified the nature and specifics of these tourist visas regulations to the US embassy and the British high commission here.
British high commissioner to India Richard Stagg spoke to officials in the external affairs ministry Thursday, seeking clarifications about new visa rules. The changes, Britain fears, can impact nearly 700,000 Britons who visit India every year.
“We are getting some clarity about the new rules,” Dan Chugg, a spokesperson of the British high commission, told IANS.
“There have been meetings between embassy officials and the officials of India’s ministry of home affairs and the external affairs ministry over the issue,” Elizabeth Fitzsimmons, a spokesperson of the US embassy, told Inditop.
These meetings were sought to clarify new Indian tourist visa regulations, she said. “The Indian government has been helpful in clarifying these regulations. It’s an ongoing dialogue,” the spokesperson said.
Since last month, “travellers have reported being denied re-entry after exiting India for business or family emergencies, or for tourist travel to nearby countries,” the US embassy had said in a message Dec 21.
Following these clarifications, the US embassy, which had highlighted instances of inconsistent implementation of new visa rules in the so-called “warden message”, has now rechristened it as a “travel alert” providing factual information about new regulations American citizens need to consider before making their travel plans.
