Lankan Tamils not eligible for long-term Indian visas

Undocumented Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who were exempted from penal provisions by a Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order last week are not eligible to apply for long-term visas (LTV), a senior government official told The Hindu.

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Disclosing this, the official, however, did not elaborate the reason for the refugees’ ineligibility.

Though the order removes the tag of an “illegal migrant” from registered Sri Lankan Tamil nationals who entered India before January 9, 2015, it will not immediately help in grant of Indian citizenship.

LTVs, a precursor to citizenship, are issued for a period of one to five years.

The official said that Sri Lankan Tamils are not eligible to apply for LTVs but foreigners can apply for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

On March 17, 2021, the MHA informed the Rajya Sabha that, “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.”