India and Pakistan activate new travel visa agreement

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan and India put into operation a new visa agreement on Friday when Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik and his Indian counterpart Sushil Kumar Shinde, operationalized

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan and India put into operation a new visa agreement on Friday when Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik and his Indian counterpart Sushil Kumar Shinde, operationalized the new regime, said a press statement issued by state-owned Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC).

According to the press statement, the visa-on-arrival will come into effect from January 15, 2013, and the group tourist visa from March 15, 2013. The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs today issued a circular to this effect to all the Indian missions, state governments/union territories, foreigners’ regional registration officers (FRROs), FROs, and all concerned. India and Pakistan had signed on September 8, 2012 a new visa agreement to facilitate travel for the nationals of both countries desirous of traveling to the other country and to promote people-to-people contact. Key features of the new visa agreement are as below:

Visitor Visa
-Places of visit allowable increased from three to five places.
-In exceptional cases, visitor visa for one year was issued in the past. Now provision has been made to issue visa up to two years in the following cases:
— Persons above 65 years of age.
— National of one country married to national of the other country.
— Children below 12 years accompanying parents in second case cited above; Visa on Arrival can be granted at Attari/Wagah checkpost to persons more than 65 years of age for 45 days with single entry (effective from January 15, 2013).

Business Visa
Exemption from police reporting for business visa granted to businessmen with an annual income above Pak Rs5 million or equivalent or annual turnover above Pak Rs30 million or equivalent.
Group Tourist Visa
-Group Tourist Visa for 30 days may be issued for travel in groups, with not less than 10 members and not more than 50 members in each group, organized by approved tour operators/travel agents (effective from March 15, 2013).

Entry and Exit
-Now entry and exit from different designated immigration checkposts can be allowed, if indicated in application.
-However, exit from Wagah/Attari on foot cannot be accepted unless the entry was also on foot via Attari/Wagah.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that the new visa agreement would facilitate easy movement of people across the two countries. Pakistan’s interior minister, A Rehman Malik, said that he has come to India with a message of peace and assured India that Pakistan will take all possible steps to work together with India for moving forward for the sake of future generations.

The Indian and Pakistani delegations are also holding a bilateral meeting on issues that include counter-terrorism border management, fake Indian currency notes, and cooperation among security and investigation agencies. The official delegation accompanying Rehman Malik includes officials from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Federal Administration, and High Commission of Pakistan in India.

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Linda Hohnholz

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