Preregistration to be required for Indian nationals traveling to 18 destination countries

High Priority

What is the immigration news? Beginning next year, the Indian government will require that Indian citizens complete registration procedures at least 24 hours before traveling to any of 18 designated countries. The countries are Afghanistan, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Key points:

• Effective date:  1.
• Impact on business: Indian nationals working on an employment visa who fail to preregister before traveling to any of the 18 countries will be turned away from Indian airports and not allowed to board their departure flight.
• What to watch: Indian nationalswill be required to register at the Indian government’s eMigrate portal  at least 24 hours before their flight. They will be required to provide an Indian cell phone number for receipt of a passcode to complete registration. The cell phone number does not need to be registered in the employee’s name, and the passcode will be a one-time code.

Additional information: India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced the new requirement, which aims to protect Indian expatriate employees against trafficking and exploitation and to ensure that their addresses and contact details are up to date in case of emergency while working in the host country.

BAL Analysis: The registration requirement will apply to new employees as well Indian nationals already living in any of the designated countries who seek to return to the host country after traveling to India. Employers should identify affected employees and ensure that they complete this new requirement before traveling or returning to the host country.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider Sesam Business Consultants in the United Arab Emirates. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.

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