DELHI: India and Russia have signed an agreement for granting visa-free entry to pilots and crew members of chartered and scheduled flights between the two countries.
The development comes ahead of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s long-pending visit to Moscow, reports The Indian Express.
According to officials, this will mean that pilots and cabin crew members of airlines operating between the two countries will not require business visas. Instead, they can be issued temporary landing permits (TLPs).
Earlier, the Indian mission used to issue visas for pilots/crew members for airlines operating between Russia and India. The visas were issued within three days of submission of the visa application.
The landing permit for sailors and crew members was curtailed in 2010 following reports of overstay and misuse of the facility — several foreigners from Russia and other erstwhile Soviet nations, availing TLP, were found to have settled in Goa later, officials claimed.
It’s only natural for a country to imposed a more strict visa policy if the foreign nationals are abusing the immigration law of the country. Regulating them is the only way to avoid problems such as overstaying in the country after their visa is expired. Another is by misconducting in other countries violating the countries rules and regulation that some expats do.