Indian government issues clarification on emigrant registration rule
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has decided to postpone the launch of the eMigrate service, after receiving a raft of complaints from overseas Indians regarding the difficulties they faced in signing up for the system.
Planned to be launched on January 1, 2019, all Indians employed in 18 nations, with Oman being one of them, had to register at least 24 hours before travelling overseas to begin or resume their employment. Those who failed to register would not be allowed to fly to their destinations. The move was intended to ensure overseas Indians were being fairly treated.
“The Ministry has been receiving representations from various quarters, including non-ECR passport holders already registered in ECR countries regarding the difficulties faced by them during registration on www.emigrate.gov.in,” said MC Luther, Joint Secretary and Protector General of Emigrants.
“The Indian missions in those countries have also forwarded representations received by them from the local community. In view of the above, the competent authority has decided to keep this advisory regarding registration of non-ECR passport holders in abeyance until further orders. However, if any emigrant wants to register voluntarily as earlier, he/she can do so.”
A senior official at the Indian Embassy in Oman also confirmed the same, saying, “This system has currently been kept in abeyance. This is a decision which has just come in and there were a number of clarifications being sought, so this may have well been the reason to put it on hold for the time being.”
