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Stung by continued issuance of stapled visas to people from certain Indian states, New Delhi on Thursday announced that such visas are not valid for travel out of country. The foreign ministry issued a travel advisory asking Indian citizens to ascertain from the Chinese embassy and consulates whether the visa would be stapled or pasted before making any travel arrangement.
“It has come to the attention of government of India that the embassy of the People’s Republic of China in New Delhi and the Chinese consulates in Mumbai and Kolkata are issuing visas on a separate piece of paper `stapled’ to the passport (rather than pasted as is the usual practice), to certain categories of Indian nationals on the basis of their domicile, ethnicity and/or place of issue of the passport. Such paper visas stapled to the passport are not considered valid for travel out of the country,’‘ said the advisory.
Despite official protests by India, China has continued to issue stapled visas for people with origin in Arunachal Pradesh and J&K. India had officially protested against the practice after news broke out that some Kashmiri businessmen and students were being given stapled visas.
“All Indian citizens intending to travel to the People’s Republic of China are advised that before making any travel arrangements they should first ascertain from the Chinese embassy or consulate, as the case may be, whether the visa being issued to them will be affixed to the passport or will be in the nature of a stapled paper visa, so that they are not inconvenienced or put to any financial loss later on this count,’‘ the advisory further said.
