Indian consulate warns jobseekers of visa fraud

dubai — Following the arrest of two persons recently for duping 17 Indians, who were deported after they landed in the UAE with fake employment visas in 2017, the Indian mission in Dubai has warned jobseekers to check their visa status with the Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra (PBSK) when in doubt.

Jobseekers can also verify the status of their visas on the Amer website ( https://amer.gdrfad.gov.ae/visa-inquiry) or the labour department of the Consulate-General of India in Dubai ahead of their travels, said Consul- General Vipul.

Recently, the Delhi Police had arrested two persons for allegedly running a syndicate of supplying fake visas. The accused have been identified as Javed Ali, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district, and Manoj Kumar Sharma from Delhi, said a PTI report.

The police had received complaints filed by immigration officials, where it was alleged that on April 8, 2017, 17 Indians were deported from the UAE as all were found having fake employment visas, deputy commissioner of police (IGI Airport) Sanjay Bhatia told PTI.

During the investigation, the victims disclosed that the visas were provided to them by Javed Ali who took Rs100,000 (Dh5,261) from each passenger. He was arrested on April 17 from his village, Bhatia said.

Given the influx in victims of visa frauds, the consulate had also issued two advisories in 2017, Vipul said.

“One was regarding people who come into the UAE on visit visas and get stuck here as the promised job never materialises. Second, there have been a few cases of Indians travelling on socalled ‘employment visas’ that were essentially ‘visit visas’ changed on an image editing software,” said Vipul.

In both cases, agents take huge sums of money from victims. “People must check the status of their visa before travelling. It is very easy,” said Vipul.

The visa status can be checked on the Dubai Tourism website as well. The consul-general encouraged residents to go to the PBSK and the labour section of the consulate to confirm their status.

According to him, return tickets of jobseekers on a visit visa are sometimes cancelled in the last minute so agents can save money.

Vipul said in the last two-three months, no big visa fraud victim groups from the UAE has been repatriated. “About three to four months ago, a big group of Odiya workers, approximately 35-40 individuals, were repatriated by our labour department,” said Vipul. He explained given the rise in these cases, the consulate is now working in tandem with the Protector of Emigrants (POE), Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, to take strict action against fraudulent agents, said the consul-general.