New Delhi, Feb. 18: Getting visas to attend conferences in India has been made more difficult for nationals of eight countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and China, as well as all "foreigners of Pakistani origin" and "stateless persons" — who will now mandatorily require prior security clearance from the Union home ministry.
This has resulted from the Centre’s decision to make the visa regime more stringent following the abuse of tourist visas by 26/11 terror suspect David Coleman Headley and his associate Tahawwur Rana. The MHA will also have to give its in-principle approval before international events such as conferences, seminars and workshops are held.
The other countries which are covered under this new rule are Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Sudan. The home ministry, in an order issued on February 5, directed all Central ministries and departments as well as the chief secretaries of all states and Union territories to "strictly" adhere to the revised procedure for grant of conference visas to foreign participants coming for conferences, seminars and workshops. The new rules will form part of the reworked visa manual, a home ministry official said.
While nationals of these eight countries will be granted visas only after the MHA’s approval, citizens of other countries will be able to get conference visas directly from Indian diplomatic missions overseas on production of an invitation letter from the organisers, which must be accompanied by a document certifying the approval of the MHA, the nodal ministry concerned and other relevant authorities.
A home ministry official said it had been noticed that some departments and the organisers of some international events were not adhering to the "timeline" for submitting proposals to the ministry — six weeks before the commencement of any event — which was causing concern to the security agencies.
Namrata Biji Ahuja