Resident travel document holders are being denied air travel into and out of India Those holding resident travel documents cannot legally travel to India currently, as Indian immigration has stopped recognising the document. The resident travel document, distinguishable by its green cover, is an identification document used for travelling issued to foreigners legally married to Bhutanese and their legitimate children, according to information available on the home ministry’s website. It is also issued to those, whose citizenship status is under review or under process. Indian immigration stopped recognising the document in September last year, following an incident where two passengers using the resident travel document were denied entry into India, and were deported from New Delhi airport back to Bhutan. Additionally, national airline Drukair was also fined Nu 200,000 for issuing tickets and flying them to India. Drukair customer service’s Wangchuk Tshering said that, prior to the incident Indian immigration had been accepting the travel document. However, since September, Indian immigration has stopped recognising the travel document, based on the justification that the holders’ citizenship is not specified in the identification document. The holder of the travel document is categorised as a ‘resident’ in the nationality field. As a means to solve the problem, an accompanying letter, specifying relations to a Bhutanese citizen, was issued by the home ministry to holders of such travel documents. However, this was not accepted by Indian immigration. As a result, Drukair has stopped issuing tickets to those, who hold the resident travel document intending to travel to India, as it would be fined Nu 100,000 for each such person it flies there. Wangchuk Tshering said that even Nepal has stopped recognising the resident travel document. However, Thailand is still accepting the resident travel document, as long as a visa is obtained in advance, while Singapore has asked that citizenship is specified and stamped on the observation page of the travel document, he said. While some resident travel document holders have managed to get Drukair tickets to India, they are now being stopped by immigration at Paro airport from boarding the aircraft. Drukair has forwarded the issue to the foreign affairs and home ministries. Wangchuk Tshering said that the issue can only be resolved at the government to government level. However, he added, obtaining visa on advance from the Indian embassy in Thimphu is an option that was discussed recently. Wangchuk Tshering also pointed out that the Indian government is in process of waiving off the Nu 200,000 fine imposed on the airline in September. Meanwhile, travel document holders are still able to travel to India by road or rail, given lack of immigration checks, but may face difficulty in trying to exit India to a third country, if they choose to travel by air. It could not be determined how many travel document holders there are in the country. By Gyalsten K Dorji
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 23:10:13 +0000