NEW DELHI: The government has virtually done away with visa curbs imposed on foreign nationals belonging to the Sikh community who had taken asylum abroad in the 1980s for fear of religious prosecution back home in wake of the crackdown on Sikh militancy.
As part of a review of ‘adverse list’ of such Sikhs, the government has now pruned their number to just 2 from 314.
The review, a continuous and dynamic process, will allow the de-listed Sikh foreign nationals to visit India, meet their family members here and reconnect with their roots.
During the 1980s, many Indian and foreign nationals belonging to Sikh community had fallen to anti-India propaganda, according to home ministry sources. Some Sikhs in India fled abroad to escape the authorities, became foreign nationals and took asylum outside India. They were placed in the adverse list till 2016, making them ineligible to avail visa services to visit India.
One major issue that had blocked grant of consular/visa services to asylees and their family members, mostly belonging to Sikh community, was maintenance of local adverse lists by Indian Missions. This practise has also been discontinued. Consequently, all Indian Missions/Posts abroad have been advised to grant appropriate visa to all categories of asylees and derivative asylees (i.e. family members) whose names do not figure in the Central Adverse List, in line with the procedure followed for other categories of applicants of that nationality.
Secondly, all categories of asylees who become eligible for issuance of long term Indian visa will also be eligible to apply for registration as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder after they have applied for and held normal visas for a period of two years.
As part of a review of ‘adverse list’ of such Sikhs, the government has now pruned their number to just 2 from 314.
The review, a continuous and dynamic process, will allow the de-listed Sikh foreign nationals to visit India, meet their family members here and reconnect with their roots.
During the 1980s, many Indian and foreign nationals belonging to Sikh community had fallen to anti-India propaganda, according to home ministry sources. Some Sikhs in India fled abroad to escape the authorities, became foreign nationals and took asylum outside India. They were placed in the adverse list till 2016, making them ineligible to avail visa services to visit India.
One major issue that had blocked grant of consular/visa services to asylees and their family members, mostly belonging to Sikh community, was maintenance of local adverse lists by Indian Missions. This practise has also been discontinued. Consequently, all Indian Missions/Posts abroad have been advised to grant appropriate visa to all categories of asylees and derivative asylees (i.e. family members) whose names do not figure in the Central Adverse List, in line with the procedure followed for other categories of applicants of that nationality.
Secondly, all categories of asylees who become eligible for issuance of long term Indian visa will also be eligible to apply for registration as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder after they have applied for and held normal visas for a period of two years.
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