The Centre said on Thursday that India has put in place a new visa module for Afghan nationals on April 29 to help further strengthen people-to-people ties between both the countries.
Addressing his weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal informed Afghan nationals can now apply for Indian visas in six categories – medical, medical attendant, business, entry, student, and UN diplomatic.
He said the old visa module for Afghan nationals has been discontinued and asked those who are in India as per the old policy to get it converted as per the new policy. “I would like to introduce you to the new visa module in place for Afghan nationals. This was, I think, put in place last month. The old visa module that we had, a programme called E-Emergency Ex-Miscellaneous Visa, has been discontinued, and we have a new visa model for Afghan nationals, which came into effect on 29th April, so last month, 29th April,” Jaiswal elaborated.
India has recently resumed issuing visas to Afghan nationals after a four-year hiatus, following the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021. This move allows Afghan nationals to apply for various visa categories, including student, business, medical, medical attendant, entry, and UN diplomat visas.
“All Afghan nationals can now apply for an Indian visa in six categories: medical visa, medical attendant visa, business visa, entry visa, student visa, and UN diplomatic visa. Afghan nationals who are in India on visas that were issued as per the old policy will now have to get it converted as per the new policy. They will have to approach the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) here in Delhi or any other part of India, as the case may be. The new visa module will help strengthen India-Afghanistan people-to-people ties further,” he added.