With immediate effect, the Ministry of External Affairs of India has issued a requirement that Indian nationals with non–“Emigration Check Required” passports traveling to certain countries on employment visas must register through an online portal.  

All Indian nationals who do not have an “Emigration Check Required” stamp (non-ECR) on their passports, and who are traveling to 18 designated countries on an employment visa, are now required to register online through the eMigrate portal. The applicable countries are as follows:

• Afghanistan
• Bahrain
• Indonesia
• Iraq
• Jordan
• Kuwait
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Malaysia
• Oman
• Qatar
• Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Sudan
• South Sudan
• Syria
• Thailand
• United Arab Emirates
• Yemen

Non-ECR passport holders must complete the registration at least 24 hours prior to actual departure, and failure to comply can result in offloading of noncompliant individuals from their mode of transport. This requirement is mandatory for all newly hired employees/​applicants from India.

Effective January 1, 2019, non-ECR Indian passport holders will not be permitted to go to the above-listed countries for overseas employment without prior registration on the eMigrate portal. Upon successful completion of the registration, the emigrant will receive a confirmatory email/SMS message.

There is no change in the existing procedures for other visa categories.