By IANS
New Delhi : Indians holding emigration check required (ECR) stamped passports need not seek ECR suspension (ECRS) clearance, while going abroad on visit visas, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi informed parliament Thursday.
Under the Emigration Act, 1983 a person holding a passport with the emigration check required (ECR) stamp is required to obtain emigration clearance in case of an employment visa and ECRS in case of a visit visa from the Protector of Emigrants (PoE).
Now, the government has done away with the system of ECRS for people going abroad on visit visas.
“The Emigration Act does not cover ECR passport holders who travel overseas for visits other than employment. However, for the last two decades administrative instructions have been in force requiring them to obtain ECRS, which has resulted in corruption in PoE offices and a nexus between unscrupulous recruiting agents and middlemen,” Ravi said.
“First and foremost, it will save over 600,000 poor passengers from inconvenience and harassment. As a result of the abolition of ECRS, all ECR passport holders will be saved from incurring unnecessary expenditure estimated annually at about Rupees 6 billion,” the minister said.
According to a policy change formulated in January this year, emigration clearance or suspension of ECR is necessary only in 18 countries in the world, including Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Brunei, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, Thailand and Iraq.
Now, only those who have not cleared Class 10 are issued ECR passports in India.
The minister also added that the uneducated ECR passport holder does not know the distinction between emigration clearance, which is mandatory for employment visas and ECRS that is only needed for visit visa. This ignorance is often exploited by agents.
“The abolition of ECRS will remove the ambiguity,” Ravi said.