NEW DELHI: Union home minister
Rajnath Singh ensured a long-pending request of visa extension and conversion of an Indian national’s Filipino wife—conveyed to him via Twitter—was processed without further delay while he was holding a meeting to discuss smoothening of the processes of immigration and visas for Indian citizens and foreigners.
According to sources, Ghaziabad-based Elisha Rohit Das, an Indian citizen married to Filipino national Edalyn Abong Das, on Friday tagged Singh’s personal Twitter handle to a tweet stating that the home ministry was yet to respond to his request for visa extension and conversion of his wife, notwithstanding several visits to the FRRO, Ghaziabad and the latter forwarding the requisite details to the ministry. In fact, the ministry had, instead of granting the visa extension/conversion request submitted in March, sought an exit clearance citing ‘overstay’ by Edalyn.
A call centre employee, Rohit said he was working through the night and doing rounds of the FRRO office during the day. “Please help us stay together in India,” he pleaded.
This Twitter grievance was flagged to Singh along with case details emailed to home minister’s office at the latter’s request. Singh, who was at the time chairing a meeting of the parliamentary consultative panel in Kochi, intervened by asking the home secretary, who was present there, to get the matter resolved. The home secretary passed on the case to joint secretary (foreigners) who was in the same room.
As the home ministry brass worked the phone, Rohit’s wish to stay with his wife in India was finally granted. Sources said Edalyn’s visa extension/conversion request will be processed on Monday itself, it being the next working day.
“What is particularly interesting is that the visa request was received, noted and put into process at the home minister’s behest even as the ministry briefed MPs about the initiatives taken to expedite/facilitate immigration and visa process,” said a home ministry officer.
Singh on Friday told the consultative committee that e-visa scheme had become very popular with foreigners, with number of e-visas issued soaring from 5,17,417 in 2015 to 19,01,309 in 2017 and 11,16,985 till July 5 this year. “It is expected that in a few years time the number of e-visas issued by MHA’s Bureau of Immigration (BoI) would overtake the number of regular visas issued by all the Indian Missions abroad,” he tweeted.
Singh added that the home ministry was putting up additional departure and arrival counters at major
airports as well as providing human resources to the bureau of immigration to fast-track the immigration process.