The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) eased more visa restrictions on Friday, 12 June, and allowed the entry of certain category of foreigners and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), reported ANI.
Foreign students with at least one Indian parent, foreign minor children with an Indian parent either an Indian citizen or OCI, dependent family members of foreign diplomats, service staff accredited to foreign diplomatic missions and consular offices have been allowed to enter India, as per the new order.
The MHA has said that these people will have to “obtain a fresh visa of appropriate category” and added that these foreign nationals will not be “permitted to travel to India on the strength of any electronic visa obtained earlier.”
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the government had suspended visas of all foreigners on 11 March. However, on 22 May, the government allowed permitted four categories of OCI cardholders to enter India.
These categories included:
- Minors born to Indians abroad holding OCI
- OCI cardholders who want to come to India due to family emergencies
- Couples, one of whom holds an OCI and one an Indian citizen, with a permanent residence in India
- University students who are OCI cardholders and whose parents are Indian citizens living in India
International travel continues to remain banned as India is still grappling with a high number of coronavirus cases.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)