Emigration abroad for employment

 Emigration abroad for employment
ECR/ECNR Status o Emigration Act, 1983 provides that no citizen
of India shall migrate unless he obtains emigration clearance from
Protector of Emigrants. Similarly, it has been recognized that
certain countries (currently 18) do not have strict laws regulating
the entry and employment of foreign nationals. They also do not
provide avenues for grievance redressal. Thus these have been
categorized as Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries.

Hence, all persons, having ECR endorsed Passports and going to
any of the 18 ECR countries for taking up employment require
emigration clearance. However, ECR passport holders going to

any ECR country for purposes other than employment do not
require emigration clearance. No specific mention of ECNR is
made on the Passports and the ones not endorsed as ECR,

automatically belong to ECNR category.
Offices of the Protectors of Emigrants under the Ministry of
External Affairs, grant emigration clearance to the persons who
are holding ECR Passports and are going to any of the notified 18
ECR countries on Employment Visa, for Overseas Employment.
ECR Passport holders going to any of the notified 18 ECR
Countries on any visa other than Employment Visa, are allowed to
travel on production of following documents at the Airport: (1)
Valid Passport, (2) Valid visit/residence/study visa etc. and (3)
return ticket.
Guidelines for Prospective Emigrants
i. Be sure of your Recruiting Agent. Ask him to show his original
Registration Certificate (RC) issued by the Protector General of
Emigrants, Government of India. Do not deal with him unless he

is registered and the registration is valid and is not suspended or
cancelled. In case of doubt, check with any of the offices of the
Protectors of Emigrants (POEs) or the Protector General of
Emigrants (PGE). List of Recruiting Agents (RAs) is available at

www.emigrate.gov.in.
ii. DO NOT deal with sub-Agents as they are not permitted under
the Emigration Act, 1983 and Rules.
iii. While taking employment in Foreign Country, the employment
should be taken up as per the travel advisories issued by Ministry
of External Affairs, from time to time.
iv. Ask the Recruiting Agent to show you the Demand Letter and
Power of Attorney from the Foreign Employer.
v. Also carefully go through the Employment Contract detailing
the salary/wage levels and other service conditions.
vi. DO NOT pay more than the equivalent of wages for forty five
days as offered under the Employment Contract, subject to
maximum of Rupees Thirty Thousand in respect of services
provided and take a receipt of this payment.
vii. Pay by Demand Draft or Cheque or any electronic mode and
obtain a receipt. Complaints of overcharging or cheating can be
lodged with the concerned POE or with the Protector General of
Emigrants (PGE) or at PBSK (Toll free No. 1800- 11-3090) or on
website www.emigrate.gov.in.
Check before departure:
i. Ensure you have a valid Passport at least for six months. A valid
visa must be either stamped on or accompany your Passport. Also ensure invariably that your visa is for the same category for
which you have been recruited. Always keep a photocopy of your
Passport and Visa.
ii. You must possess a copy of the Employment Contract signed
by you and your Foreign Employer duly attested by the registered
Recruiting Agent.
iii. Insist on a copy of Employment Contract in English duly
authenticated by the Recruiting Agent.
iv. Open a Saving Bank Non-Resident External (NRE) Account in
one of the Banks in India to enable you to send your remittances
from abroad.
v. Acquaint yourself with local labour laws, working and living
conditions of the country of employment. Keep with you complete
address, phone, fax and mobile, email of the Indian Mission/Post

in the country which you are visiting.
In the country of your employment:

i. Obtain a Resident Permit or Identity Card, Labour Card or
IQAMA.
ii. DO NOT part with your Passport and copy of Employment
Contract signed by you in India, at any cost.
iii. DO NOT sign any other Employment Contract or any blank
paper.
iv. DO NOT participate in strike or resort to agitations. In many
countries these are illegal under local labour laws. You could be
arrested, imprisoned and also deported. v. DO NOT carry with you any edible items, this may land you in
jail, if any banned substance found in such edible items.
vi. DO NOT carry any medicines without accompanying the
prescriptions from a Doctor.
vii. AVOID all contacts that may result in AIDS – a dreaded
disease. viii. Keep in touch with the nearest Indian Mission/Post
and report any complaints about non-payment or delayed
payment of wages or compensations or any other problem to the
Indian Mission/Post.
Customs Formalities
i. Personal baggage – Customs checking is VERY STRICT.
Kindly co-operate with the Customs staff at the International
Airport.
ii. Ensure that you do not carry any narcotics or alcoholic drinks.
Alcohol is strictly prohibited. Its consumption is a serious offence
attracting severe punishment.
iii. DO NOT accept any unchecked parcel from any one. If you
have to take a parcel for someone, check thoroughly that it does
not contain alcohol or narcotics. Otherwise, it may land you in
serious difficulties on arrival in the country of employment,

including imprisonment.
Precautions

i. You must make and keep a photocopy of all the pages of your
Passport. DO NOT lose your Passport or its photocopy.
ii. By chance if you misplace your Passport, inform the nearest
Indian Mission/Post immediately giving them details, i.e. Passport number, date and place of issue, your name and date of your
entry in the country of employment. You can give these details
only if you keep a photocopy of your Passport.
iii. DO NOT lose your copy of Employment Contract. Make
photocopies and keep them with you always. iv a)You must have
a full name, address, telephone/fax number of your Foreign
Employer, before you leave India. b) Please ensure you carry the
‘Emigration Card’ with you always and do not keep it along with
Passport.
iv. If you have difficulty in locating your Foreign Employer, contact
the nearest Indian Mission/Post immediately.
v. DO NOT accept temporary or permanent employment with
another person or establishment other than that the sponsoring
company/ establishment/person. Employment with persons other
than your original Sponsor is strictly prohibited and attracts severe
punishment.
vi. Before the Visa or Employment Contract expires, get them
renewed. If you are returning to India for a short while during the
tenure of your Employment Contract abroad, ensure that the
validity period of Visa does not expire before you return to the
country of employment.
vii. Also ensure that your Passport is valid. At least two months
before it is about to expire, get it revalidated from the concerned
Indian Mission/Post abroad or from the Regional Passport Office

(RPO) in India.
Persons on whose Passports ECR stamp would not be affixed [as
per MEA (CPV Division) – Guidelines] i. All holders of Diplomatic /Official Passports. ii. All Gazetted Government servants. iii. All
Income-tax payers (including Agricultural Income-tax payees) in
their individual capacity. iv. All professional degree holders, such
as Doctors holding M.B.B.S. degrees or Degrees in Ayurved or
Homoeopathy; Accredited Journalists; Engineers; Chartered
Accountants; Lecturers; Teachers; Scientists; Advocates etc. v.
Spouses and dependent children of category of persons listed at
(i) to (iv) above. vi. All persons having educational qualification of
Matriculation and above. vii. Seamen who are in possession of
CDC or Sea Cadets, Desk Cadets (a) who have passed final
examination of three year B.Sc. Nautical Sciences Courses at
T.S. Chanakya, Mumbai and (b) who have undergone three
months pre-sea training at any of the Government approved
Training Institutes such as T.S. Chanakya, T.S. Rehman, T.S.
Jawahar, MTI (SCI) and NIPM, Chennai, after production of

identity cards issued by the Shipping Master, Mumbai/Calcutta/
Chennai. viii. Persons holding permanent immigration visas, such
as the visas of UK, USA and Australia. ix. Persons possessing
two years’ Diploma from any institute recognized by the National
Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) or State Council of
Vocational Training (SCVT) or persons holding three years’
Diploma/equivalent Degree from institutions like Polytechnics
recognised by Central/State Governments. x. Nurses possessing

qualification recognised under the Indian Nursing Council Act,
1947. xi. All persons above the age of 50 years. xii. All persons
who have been staying abroad for more than three years (the

period of three years could be either in one stretch or broken) and
their spouses. xiii. All children upto the age of 18 years of age. (At
the time of re-issue at the age of 18 years, ECR stamping shall be
done, if applicable). 

 

List of the 18 countries where Emigration Check is required: (i)
Afghanistan, (ii) Bahrain, (iii) Indonesia, (iv) Iraq, (v) Jordan, (vi)
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, (vii) Kuwait, (viii) Lebanon, (ix) Libya,
(x) Malaysia, (xi) Oman, (xii) Qatar, (xiii) South Sudan, (xiv)

Sudan, (xv) Syria, (xvi) Thailand, (xvii) United Arab Emirates, and
(xviii) Yemen.