A government advisory from the Ministry of External Affairs announced on November 14, 2018, said this effort taken to provide safeguard Indians employed in overseas.
“Online Registration is Mandatory and should be completed before January 1” All Indian expatriates must register online at the government e-Migrate portal, or else will be offloaded. The new rule has been established which is active from January 1, 2019, as indicated and notice issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in India.
The Indian government has been listed 18 countries including the UAE. The list of countries included is Afghanistan, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Thailand, UAE, and Yemen. The registration of Non-ECR passport holders traveling for employment/work in these above 18 listed countries.
You can read full advisory below,
So, what are ECNR and ECR Category?
ECNR
Non ECR / ECNR -> Emigration Check Not Required
Emigration check not required (ECNR), The citizens who are not in the working age and those who are not illiterate or are well qualified educationally will come under the category of ECNR.
ECR
ECR ->Emigration Check Required
This Emigration Clearance is done for the purpose of protecting the passport holder from exploitation by the fraudulent employers in the Foreign Country. Mostly ECR status is given to the Illiterate workers emigrating overseas for the sole purpose of working.
New Rules and Regulations are listed below,
- Before January 1, all the Indian nationals must register on a government portal before leaving their home country to work in other countries including UAE.
- Off-loading of unregistered non-ECR emigrants at the airports would be affected by the appropriate authority after January 1, 2019.
- Registration on Non-ECR passport holders will be mandatory and required to be completed at least 24 hours prior to the actual departure.
- The registration can be done by visiting the ECNR Registration section on the website emigrate.gov.in. After the successful completion of registration, the emigrant would receive an SMS/email. For more clarifications, job seekers can contact Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra (PBSK) in India on toll-free number 1800113090 or 01140503090 (charges apply) or by email at mailto:helpline@mea.gov.in, the ministry’s advisory added.
- This confirmation will have to be shown at the airport from where the applicant boards the flight.
Should we need to register if we are in abroad already?
As this notification is silent, it is assumed as the registration is required and mandatory only for the person flying on an employment visa for the first time.
Also, noted that Indians who are already staying in abroad for a long time may not be required to register where spouses and children’s also exempted from this.
There are many job fraud cases where folks have been cheated. This system has introduced to product unskilled and illiterate workers from exploitation and human trafficking.