Foreigners deported for visa violations on the rise

The latest incident of deporting 19 UK students, along with three staff members who had come to participate in a charity event with an NGO, after the Immigration authorities kept them in waiting for more than 11 hours. Airport sources said it was not a stray incident and every day 3 to 4 foreigners are being deported at the airport, citing visa violations. 

“The UK students were having the e-tourist visa cards and on that itself it was clearly mentioned that participating in any volunteer work while travelling with the e-tourist visa is strictly prohibited,” an Immigration official told DTNext . 

The official said the UK students were visiting an NGO and were about to do volunteer work for them and hence it was in violation of the existing visa norms. “So, we had to deport them,” the official added. Meanwhile, the airport sources said the traveller must convince the immigration officials regarding the purpose of his or her visit. 

“We are losing a lot of foreign currency in this regard. If the immigration officials are not convinced about the purpose of the visit of the foreign national, they opt to deport them and there is no mechanism to redress the visitor’s grievances,” a senior airport official said. 

“We do interact with the foreign nationals when they land at the airport and we try to understand their purpose of visit. If we find their purpose is not in tune with the visa they are having, we have no other option but to deport them,” the Immigration official added. 

The officials also admit that travellers from some countries, especially from those terror-infested countries, are monitored more closely.  Immigration officials say they have strict orders not to allow anyone whose purpose of visit is in doubt.