Bangladesh galled by India’s visa penalty

Bangladesh is galled by a visa regulation introduced by India about a year ago.

According to the regulation, Muslims-who are the major community of Bangladesh, pay almost 200 times higher as visa penalty for overstaying in India than the minorities, mainly Hindu.

Bangladesh Foreign Mistry refers it as a discrimination on religious lines, reports The Hindu.

The officials said that they will raise the issue in the upcoming bilateral talks.

The issue surfaced during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Kolkata visit about two weeks ago. Bangladeshi cricketer Saif Hasan had overstayed his visa. He informed the Deputy High Commission office in Kolkata, which in turn spoke to the Foreigner Regional Registration Offices (FRRO).

FRRO rules

FRRO rules, posted on its website, noted that the "penalty of overstay" for "minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan" is ₹500 for more than two years, ₹200 for 91 days to two years and ₹100 for up to 90 days.

On the other hand, if the person who overstayed does not belong to minority community, then the charges are in dollars — $500 (₹35,000), $400 (₹28,000) and $300 (₹21,000) — for the same duration of overstay.

"This means if Liton Das (a Bangladeshi cricketer, a Hindu) overstays for a day, then he will have to pay ₹100, whereas if the person's name is Saif Hasan, he will have to pay over ₹21,000, which is what Mr. Hasan paid," a senior Bangladeshi official told The Hindu.

Recently, the Deputy High Commission office staff had to raise funds to send a "poor Bangladeshi woman" back to her country. "She overstayed for a day and was asked to pay ₹21,000. She did not have money and we [DHC staff] had to raise the sum. Why should there be discrimination on religious lines?" the diplomat asked. Bangladesh is even more "hurt" as India's new rule is equally applicable to Bangladesh and Pakistan. "Can India historically and morally bracket Pakistan and Bangladesh together?"