India 200 emergency e-visas to Afghan citizens |
Parliament was informed that since the Taliban`s takeover of Afghanistan, India has granted 200 emergency e-visas to that country`s citizens. In view of the prevailing situation in Afghanistan, the Government of India has started an `e-Emergency X-Misc visa` for a period of 6 months for Afghan nationals. As of 24.11.2021, 200 e-Emergency X-Misc visas have been issued. Further, a stay visa is granted to Afghan nationals staying in India keeping in view the present situation in that country. Presently, 4,557 Afghan nationals are staying in India on Stay Visa after the extension of their visas. The Stay Visa or Residential Permit is granted for a year at a time by authorities on a case-to-case basis after the Home Ministry approval. The ministry had been asked questions related to Afghan refugees living in India. India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereon. All foreign nationals (including Asylum seekers) are governed by the provisions contained in the Foreigners Act, 1946, The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and The Citizenship Act, 1955 and rules and orders made thereunder. The data of foreign nationals who enter into the country without valid travel documents in a surreptitious and clandestine manner, claiming to be refugees or asylum seekers, is not maintained centrally. In the wake of a humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, with thousands scrambling to leave the country, India had in August introduced an emergency e-visa category for Afghan nationals to “fast-track” their applications. These visas are valid for six months and granted only after security clearance.
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