Daijiworld Media Network
New Delhi, Nov 29: The registration requirement for Non-ECR (Emigration Check Required) Indian Passport holders traveling for employment to 18 ECR countries has been kept on abeyance until further notice.
This comes as a major relief to Indian emigrants as on November 14, Ministry of External Affairs had issued an advisory stating, “Starting 01.01.2019, no Indian emigrant holding Non-ECR passport would be allowed to go to these 18 ECR countries for employment without prior registration in eMigrate, as a measure of extending protection and ensuring their welfare overseas.”
This meant, one could not travel on work visa to 18 ECR countries such as Afghanistan, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen without registration.
On November 28, Ministry of External Affairs issued a Public Notice stating, “With reference to the Ministry of External Affairs Advisory dated the 14th of November 2018, it is informed that the Ministry has been receiving representations from various quarters, including non-ECR passport holders already registered in ECR countries regarding difficulties faced by them in registration on wwww.emigrate.gov.in. 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 with until further orders. However, if any emigrant wants to register voluntarily as earlier, he/she can do so.”
The notice is signed by Joint Secretary and Protector General of Emigrants M C Luther.
ECR passport holders are those who have not passed Class 10. Their passport will include a stamp from the passport office. And those who have passed Class 10 don’t need a stamp on the passport and their passports are called Emigration Clearance Not Required (ECNR) ones.
Currently, those who possess an ECR passport can migrate to the above said 18 countries only through eMigrate, an online system set up by the Indian government in 2015, to ensure fair and ethical recruitment. However, those who possess an ECNR passport don’t have to go through eMigrate system to migrate anywhere on a job visa.