Indian Expats Working in the UAE Required to Register Immigration Status Online

The Consul General of India to Dubai, Vipul, confirmed that all Indian expats are required to undergo a one-time registration on the UAE’s e-migrate web platform.

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The initiative applies to all Indian nationals working in the 18 countries listed by India’s Ministry of External Affairs which include Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR) nations such as Afghanistan, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Thailand, UAE and Yemen.

Indian Expats Working in the UAE Required to Register Immigration Status Online
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

UAE-based Indian Nationals Must Register Immigration Status Online

As per the new rule, failure to comply will result in the off-loading of the unregistered non-ECNR emigrants at all international airports across India effective January 1, 2019.

Vipul also made it clear that dependents of Indian expats in the UAE, which include their spouses and children are NOT required to register on the new platform.

Vipul further explained that Indian nationals working in any ECNR nation, with an employment visa stamp on their passport, must register on the e-migrate platform. Spouses or children of Indian nationals, on the other hand, need not do so.

This procedure also applies to expats travelling to India for a short holiday or on an emergency visit. In a notice posted by the MEA last November 14, expats are required to secure their online registration at least 24 hours prior their scheduled departure.

The registration process will not take more than five minutes according to Vipul. However, the e-migrate website has been mostly inaccessible since Thursday (November 22) morning.

To fulfil the requirements for the registration, the applicant will be asked to provide an Indian mobile number through which a one-time password (OTP) will be sent to verify the account being registered.

Regarding this matter, Vipul clarified that it is not necessary that the number is registered under the applicant’s name for as long as it is working and that it is an Indian number, there shouldn’t be any problem.

The e-migrate system was first introduced by the Indian government back in June of 2015 which aimed to reduce the number of fake job offers in India, primarily targeted at the nation’s working class.

The system is also used to monitor the number of individuals who are exiting India for employment in any of the ECNR nations. Furthermore the scheme was established to protect the interests of Indians working in ECNR countries.

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