Immigration Blues – India

Having moved several countries since 2005, four countries and two continents, I am penning down my experiences with immigration authorities of various countries starting with India

ECR

An oddity with the Indian system of issuing passports is the famous ECR. This can pop up when you are checking in for your international flight out of the country for a job. If you are just visiting a friend, this may not be an issue.

What is ECR?

Bureau of Immigration states that,
As per the Emigration Act, 1983, Emigration Check Required (ECR) categories of Indian passport holders, require to obtain "Emigration Clearance" from the office of Protector of Emigrants (POE), Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for going to following 18 countries.
United Arab Emirates (UAE), The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Brunei, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, Thailand, Iraq (emigration banned).
However , the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (Emigration Policy Division) have allowed ECR passport holders traveling abroad for purposes others than employment to leave the country on production of valid passport, valid visa and return ticket at the immigration counters at international airports in India w.e.f. 1st October 2007.
If the RPO has issued Indian passport either with endorsement of “Emigration Check Required” or no endorsement of “Emigration Check Required” in the passport, POE clearance is required only when there is “Emigration Check Required” endorsement in the passport.
It stands for Emigration check required. Its a well meaning check put into place by the Indian authorities to ensure that the droves of labourers who work in various countries are not cheated and are employed by genuine employers abroad.

When does this stamp appear on your passport?  

At the time of your passport application, if you have not presented your graduation certificate or you were still in the process of acquiring a degree, then the Indian authorities would have put this stamp on your passport. The authorities deem that you are likely to be conned by some unscrupulous tout who has lured you into a job with some sweet talk and promises.

What to do if you have ECR?

If you already have a job then follow the following steps before trying to board your flight otherwise you will be turned back from the check-in counter. No amount of talking or convincing the person will work.

1. Get a translation of your visa (if its not in English) from a Government approved translator. If you are in Delhi, then you could try the underground Palika Bazaar for the translators. At least, they were there in 2005 but could have moved
2. You will be required to present an affidavit which will say that you will not hold the Indian government responsible if something goes wrong with your job abroad.
3. Present both of these to the Protector of Emigration, Ministry of Overseas Indian affairs. Please refer to the POE offices for details

For more details please refer to the Bureau of Immigration website

In my next post I shall be writing about my experience with the various Indian embassies in the countries where I have worked.