TRIVANDRUM, 3 July 2005 — India has put on hold for another two months its proposal of all job contracts from the Gulf requiring compulsory attestation by Indian embassies.
The regulation for all categories of jobs was frozen till Aug. 31. Emigration officials here said they received federal orders yesterday not to insist on attested job contracts for clearance from their office.
Junior foreign minister E. Ahmed, however, said India has no option but to enforce the norm eventually, as it was increasingly accepted in foreign countries as a measure to end human trafficking.
“We also have concerns about thousands of ordinary jobseekers form Kerala who find it difficult to get the contracts attested,” he said. The decision follows representations from various quarters including Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and recruiting agents saying it would hit the prospects of jobseekers going on “free” visas. They also fear employers reluctant to go through the rigors of getting the contracts attested from the Indian embassies would turn to other cheaper and easier markets.
The federal government had introduced the provision in January 2005 as one of the measures to check illegal recruitments and emigration frauds.
The federal government had already announced its plan to make an electronic “smart card” mandatory from Aug. 1 for all overseas workers leaving India as an alternative to passports and visas to deal with the employment and relocation problems faced by the jobseekers abroad.
The card that contains details of employment, personal details and the names and addresses of legal heirs would be a valid document to claim compensation and other privileges. Emigration status and details of the sponsors were also to be recorded on the card that could be used as a master card.
A document for all legal requirements, it would be effective to speed up embassy-related clearances, reducing fraud and forgery of travel documents and increasing security for travelers.
The multipurpose cards distributed among expatriates through embassies in foreign countries would be priced at 1,100 rupees with two-year validity and insurance cover for the cardholder for that period.
These cards can be used for departure and arrival formalities at airports and will do away with the need for filling forms.
An advanced passenger information system is being introduced at Indian airports to provide hassle-free entry to foreign and Indian passengers coming from abroad from Oct 1.
Under the scheme, passenger manifest would be sent by the airlines to the immigration authorities in India as soon as a flight takes off for an Indian destination. This could help prechecking of the passengers and their faster clearance even before the flight lands in the country.
