LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5236
TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2019
PROBLEMS IN GETTING VISA
5236. SHRI G.M. SIDDESHWAR:
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government has any check and monitoring system to record the details of Indians applying for various types of visas from embassies, consulates, high commissions etc. of foreign countries in India;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government has appointed adequate number of staff to mitigate such problems faced by Indians in getting their visas;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the role of officials of the Ministry in solving various kinds of problems faced by Indians going abroad particularly in getting their valid visas to the respective countries?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]
(a) & (b) Grant or not to grant visas to Indian nationals or for that matter any foreign national in respect of a particular country is a sovereign right of that country, which is generally exercised by the country’s Embassy, High Commission or Consulate.
As such, the foreign Embassy, High Commission and Consulate concerned Mission cannot be compelled to share information on visa applications received by them from our nationals. In addition, many countries have strict privacy laws on such matters.
(c) to (e) In view of the scope for intervention being very limited, there is no need felt for appointment of staff for such a purpose. The officials of Ministry of External Affairs on account of this fact, can again play very limited role on such matters except
in certain cases, where there is a bilateral visa facilitation agreement with certain countries, and if brought to the attention of the Ministry about any breach of the agreement. The same is brought to the attention of the country concerned, and follow-up
action taken. Copies of such agreements are uploaded in the Ministry’s website.
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