Confusion and anxiety reigned supreme on the minds of many citizens with jobs abroad seeking to fly out of India after the government announced its decision to launch flights to 12 countries to repatriate those stranded . Many have urged the government to relax its visa norms to travel abroad failing which they could lose their jobs.
The Centre has said that people could travel abroad provided they are foreign citizens, Indians with foreign visas valid up to one year, Green Card and OCI card holders and those travelling for medical emergencies or a death in the family.
“The government must consider supporting documents such as a work permit and a job offer letter to allow people to travel abroad,” said Sai Gunaranjan Sairam, who awaits a flight to Canada and is now in Noida. A recent graduate from a university in Canada, Mr. Sairam has a student visa.
Money troubles
He bagged a job in Vancouver and can re-enter with his work permit. “My student visa is valid only for five months. So, as per the Indian government’s order I can’t fly out. My job is at stake if I don’t resume soon. I have a student loan of ₹30 lakh to repay and I also continue to pay fixed costs in Canada like rent insurance,” he told The Hindu . While flights to Canada have not yet been announced in the first round of repatriation, they are likely in the subsequent stages.
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Sneha Singh, 31, flew from Finland along with her husband in March to be with her family in Mumbai for Holi. She says the government order allowing only those Indians who hold a visa of a foreign country with a validity of one year may leave the couple jobless. “Our jobs, visa and livelihood are in danger because of the government’s decision. My visa is valid until June 30. The visas can only be extended in Finland as embassies here are shut due to the lockdown, failing which we will have to apply for a new visa. When the Finland government is allowing us to return, the Indian government’s visa restriction seems arbitrary,” said the engineering professional. She requested that the government provide flights to countries like Finland which haven’t recorded many cases of COVID-19.
Shyamal Subrahmanyam is a 34-year-old scientist working on cancer therapy at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. He is now in Pune and trying to return to the U.S., but wonders how he can travel to Mumbai, which is the only airport in Maharashtra from where special flights have been planned. “The government’s decision to allow passengers to fly on outbound flights is welcome, but the entire operation could have been organised more efficiently. I have been calling up the airline’s call centre all evening, but they have no information on flights to the U.S. I am not sure how to reach Mumbai and whether cabs will be allowed on passes being issued by the district authorities. My work is an essential service and can’t be performed remotely,” he said.
Similarly, Ankit Patel, a software engineer working in San Francisco Bay Area is stuck in Ahmedabad. He too wonders how can he travel from Ahmedabad to Delhi to fly out as there are no flights to San Francisco from Ahmedabad. “It looks like the government is not fully prepared to conduct this exercise,” he said.
