GUWonder

The above-communicated perception does have a good amount of validity behind it, but generally that is less a matter of Indian Government policy than of the discretion of an individual or group of individuals in the GOI's External Affairs and Home Ministries which may run counter even to what is in Indian law and/or desired by the Cabinet.

The above-communicated perception doesn't align with what I've observed for "college-age person born in the USA of Muslim parents from India" when those applicants have a history of prior visits to India and/or if the visa history begins with a parent applying for the individual as a minor.

d3vski

hate to gloss over any history (i apolagize if i offend anyone) but my basic understanding is that Sikhs and other Indians who visit Pakistan do not have a history of terrorist acts while on pakistani soil. Pakistanis kill pakistanis without indian interference while....

....people of pakistani origin have plenty of history of terrorism within India and in the outside world and that could be the reason why many people of pakistani origin (despite being born abroad) have trouble getting visas for India.

e.g. london undergound bombings in London, 3 out 4 were british born pakistani origin.

failed trans atlantic bomb plot etc etc

GUWonder

Most of those "people of Pakistani origin" have an Indian origin background that extensively exceeds that of any Pakistani origin.

In any case, I am not going to defend bigotry on the basis of national, ethnic, religious, linguistic or other largely immutable affiliations.

Yaatri

Terrorists to whom you refer are terrorists no doubt. That they are Pakistani nationals is only incidental. Causes of their terrorism lie in additional factors other than their nationality or religious indentification.

d3vski

When it comes Visa issuance, every country stereotypes. Thats why Indians require visas to visit so many countries because Indians are considered an immigration risk.

Now unfortunately, Pakistanis do not have a good reputation and their citizens are scrutinized more than others. Im not saying all pakistanis are bad but at the current time, their country (maybe not politically but certainly a large proportion of their private citizens) donate money and lend moral support to people who are causing destruction and terror within India.

Now how many Indian organisations are actively funding groups in Pakistan with the aim of destroying it or causing major upheaval.

Now that could be a reason why Indians are hesitant to give visas easily to people of Pakistani nationality or heritage.

There is plenty of precedent in the world where discrimination and profiling is active. Israeli airport security single out arabs or palestinians or those who have been to the west bank/gaza because they have a history of terror against Israel.

Even the Americans do extra checks on citizens of certain countries (especially men), i dont know if any of you ever handle different passports on a regular basis but certain people have an annotation on their American Visas "Security clearance received on xx xxx xx".

GUWonder

Most of the destruction of life and property that takes place in India is committed by Indians. Even of that small proportion of crime which is committed by foreigners in India, most of those criminal acts are committed by persons who have never applied for nor followed the law in applying for an Indian visa.

troyb

Back in country on my Business Visa. No questions asked at immigration.

afterDawn

That's very pleasing to hear. I've followed this thread with keen interest. I was suprised that the GOI would take such drastic action which could jeopardise the lucrative foreign investment in India. I'm trying to get more info on what prompted the change - does anyone have anything to go on?

troyb

I've heard a couple things, which focus on the government's opinion that non-Indians are filling positions that could potentially be filled by Indian nationals. There is also the issue with Chinese laborers coming into the country on Business visas to do manual / menial type work, which clearly is not in the spirit of a Business visa.

In any case, its a pain and I'm sure there are a lot of people in country on the incorrect type of visa.

GUWonder

Politics, domestic and international. I'd think that it has at least something to do with: responding to complaints from Indian workers about workers coming in from elsewhere (especially East and Southeast Asia) on business visas and "taking away" jobs or promotions from Indians; and to give Indian employers and the Indian government some additional leverage with foreigners and foreign governments.

Think China, for one example.

BlrGuy

It doesn't make much sense to view policies re: Pak/BD solely from the perspective of terrorism. These immigration rules have been in existence for half a century. They stem from the unique circumstances surrounding the creation of E & W Pakistan (currently B'desh and P'stan). These nations exist because of an explicit desire on their part not to be part of India. As such, our immigration rules merely work under this political reality, by making naturalisation or even just visa approval a complicated process.

I see nothing particularly wrong with this, and it's better that immigration reforms focus on attracting western and ASEAN/E.Asian business by making the process for business visitors from these places easier, though the visa fees they are charged should be guided by reciprocity and supply/demand.

ajnz

I'm in Singapore and going through the entertaining process of trying to get an Employment Visa.

Singapore Indian High Commission indicated that EV was required due to the nature of work (project work, training local teams, etc). I'm in the process of collecting all the docs, which so far include:

- Certified copies of our Indian incorporation certificates
- Letters from the various offices of my company that I work for Australia, live in Singapore, and am needed by our Indian group to support the project, but I am not being employed in India. Proof that the company will sponsor me.
- Copy of my employment contract.
- Copy of the relationship between Indian and Singapore offices (in this case, the intra-company Purchase Order).

Then back to the High Commission to get it all stamped as sufficient, then a 5 day wait for the new visa. Yay.

I suspect I could still enter happily on a BV, but our internal directive is to get the EV.

yosithezet

I know of one Chinese firm with some 500 employees they've brought over to Delhi from China. These aren't laborers but high tech workers. The Indian gov't is now cutting back on the visa's this company's employees are able to get.

GUWonder

Indeed this rather sudden adjustment by the Indian government has to do with the higher end of the labor scale of the sort you mention. India's senior politicians and bureaucrats don't normally systematically jump this much to protect the interests of menial labor facing competition -- and this is no exception to that habit.

People wanting to enter India on passports from East and Southeast Asian countries are going to be facing relatively more scrutiny on this front.

Yaatri

PAkistani citizens do visit India for visiting relatives, medical treatment etc. Until recently, I had no specific information about people who were able to obtain a multiple entry visa to India. David Coleman Headley, who changed name (formerly Dawood Gilani), a U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin, who was arrested in Chicago lat month in connection with terrorism was one. The other one is Tahawwur Hussain Rana, A Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, who was also arrested in connection with terrorism. Both have travelled to India, Headley, many times with a multiple entry visa and are suspected t have been involved in planning for 26/11 attacks in Bombay. I suppose, some terrorists do use visas, my earlier statement notwithstanding. Dawood Gilani, aka DAvid Coleman Headley was in correspondence with Lashkar e-Toiba and, possiblly, Ilyas KAshmiri, (LeT contact A).
I would like trade, cultural, social and other contacts between India and Pakistan to increase. But some people do find ways to abuse measures taken to increase contacts between peoples of the two countries.