Omanis urged to be cautious while applying for visas

MUSCAT: In a post on its official Twitter account, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged Omani citizens to apply for the appropriate visas while travelling abroad.

The post was issued following a case of some Omanis getting stuck at the Chennai airport in India last Monday, after having gone there for medical treatment on a tourist visa.

The Ministry made it clear yesterday that citizens planning to travel to India or other destinations for medical treatment should apply only for a medical visa and not a tourist visa. “This is to avoid being stuck at the airport for long hours and not being allowed to enter their destination,” the Ministry tweeted.

It also explained that the Indian authorities had prevented a group of citizens from entering India last Monday as the citizens had obtained tourist visa, while they were travelling for medical treatment.

“The Sultanate’s Embassy in India made huge efforts to help the stranded citizens and to facilitate their entry into India,” the Ministry tweeted.

A reliable source at the Ministry explained yesterday, in a local radio interview, that a medical visa requires therapeutic medical reports and it is more expensive than the tourist visa. Thus, such an action violates other laws of other countries.

The source said there are some visa-related cases, which were solved, and there are others that are still pending.