The Federation of Kerala Associations in Saudi Arabia (FOKASA) Monday said that the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has no information available on record to substantiate a media report, saying that the Indian Embassy in Riyadh has temporarily relaxed the rules on second Indian passports.

“As per rules and provisions, an Indian national is eligible to hold only one valid passport at a time. There is no such information is available on record,” said the public information officer of MEA.

The ministry has not issued any orders or given any written instructions to the Indian Embassy, FOKASA said.

Earlier a section of the mainstream media have claimed that the Embassy of India has relaxed the terms and conditions for the issuance of second passports in the mission, for a limited period, from 2004 to 2008.

Some Indians who claimed to have benefitted from the relaxed passport rules have openly testified that they have surrendered their second passports to the Indian Embassy, and regularized their status.

The federation has requested the MEA to relax the terms and conditions for the surrender of second passports at Indian missions abroad, at least for a limited time, and thereby exempt violators from punishment.