Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees Exempted From Penal Provisions But Not Eligible For Long-Term Visas: Report
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: Days after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) exempted Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who came to India before January 9, 2015 from penal provisions if found to be without valid passports, travel documents or visa, officials have said that they are not eligible to apply for long-term visas (LTV), reported the Hindu.
However, the reasons for the refugees’ ineligibility to apply for LTV was not elaborated by the official cited by the newspaper.
As a result, despite the recent order removing the tag of an “illegal migrant” from Sri Lankan Tamil nationals who are registered , the move will not be of immediate help in granting them Indian citizenship.
The newspaper cited the official as saying that Sri Lankan Tamils are not eligible to apply for LTVs but foreigners can apply for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
“Any foreigner, including a Sri Lankan citizen, may acquire Indian citizenship by registration or naturalisation after fulfilling the eligibility criteria laid down in the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the rules made thereunder,” the MHA had informed the Rajya Sabha on March 17, 2021.
However, a 1986 letter by the MHA to chief secretaries had told states to not “entertain the applications of Sri Lanka refugees for the grant of Indian citizenship”.
The 1986 letter said that the Government of India (GoI) had received enquiries regarding the “national status of these Sri Lanka nationals who came to India as refugees”.
“After careful consideration, the GoI have come to the conclusion that no Sri Lanka refugees who came to India in July 1983 or after should be naturalised/registered under the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and Citizenship Rules, 1956,” the letter dated September 23, 1986 states.
In another order issued September 2, the Union home ministry has stated that members of minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who arrived in India till December 31, 2024 to avoid religious persecution will be allowed to stay in the country without a passport or other travel documents.
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