Germany denies visas as MEA ‘forgets’ to inform about passport changes
Chethan.Kumar@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: The failure of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) to communicate changes in Indian passports has affected many Indians planning to travel to Germany since January this year. Several have lost hundreds of euros in the process.
The new passports issued from September 2017 in some cities and January 2018 in a few others have the passport number perforated from the first page as compared to the middle of the booklet earlier. The German consulates said these cannot be accepted as MEA hadn’t informed them of the change.
However, by Monday evening, some applicants, whose visas were stuck at the consulate, told TOI they’ve been getting calls from VFS centres in Bengaluru, Pune and other cities that their applications will be processed.
A 28-year-old woman, who works for an IT firm headquartered in the US, told TOI from Mumbai: “I’ve been working here for seven years and have been travelling regularly to Germany for the past six years. For the time, the German consulate in Mumbai refused to stamp my passport, and said they’ve not been informed about the new security feature (perforated numbers). ”
In an email to another applicant, the visa section of the German consulate in Mumbai wrote: “Perforation is a security feature done by the Indian government. Since there is change with the specification now, for which we have not been informed officially, we have put your son’s application on hold.”
The VFS-Germany website had also posted a notice that it will not accept these new passports from February 18 and said that applicants must ascertain the reasons from the Indian government. The website also had a picture of the type of passport that won’t be accepted. But according to the woman from Mumbai, her passport was rejected before January 18.
With many people losing money and having to cancel their plans, they have been calling regional passport offices and officials in New Delhi. More than 50 of them have formed a WhatsApp group and collectively tweeting to officials and even external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, but haven’t elicited any response.
NO RESPITE: More than 50 people have formed a WhatsApp group and are collectively tweeting to officials and Union minister Sushma Swaraj, but haven’t got any response
Chethan.Kumar@timesgroup.com
Bengaluru: The failure of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) to communicate changes in Indian passports has affected many Indians planning to travel to Germany since January this year. Several have lost hundreds of euros in the process.
The new passports issued from September 2017 in some cities and January 2018 in a few others have the passport number perforated from the first page as compared to the middle of the booklet earlier. The German consulates said these cannot be accepted as MEA hadn’t informed them of the change.
However, by Monday evening, some applicants, whose visas were stuck at the consulate, told TOI they’ve been getting calls from VFS centres in Bengaluru, Pune and other cities that their applications will be processed.
A 28-year-old woman, who works for an IT firm headquartered in the US, told TOI from Mumbai: “I’ve been working here for seven years and have been travelling regularly to Germany for the past six years. For the time, the German consulate in Mumbai refused to stamp my passport, and said they’ve not been informed about the new security feature (perforated numbers). ”
In an email to another applicant, the visa section of the German consulate in Mumbai wrote: “Perforation is a security feature done by the Indian government. Since there is change with the specification now, for which we have not been informed officially, we have put your son’s application on hold.”
The VFS-Germany website had also posted a notice that it will not accept these new passports from February 18 and said that applicants must ascertain the reasons from the Indian government. The website also had a picture of the type of passport that won’t be accepted. But according to the woman from Mumbai, her passport was rejected before January 18.
With many people losing money and having to cancel their plans, they have been calling regional passport offices and officials in New Delhi. More than 50 of them have formed a WhatsApp group and collectively tweeting to officials and even external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, but haven’t elicited any response.
NO RESPITE: More than 50 people have formed a WhatsApp group and are collectively tweeting to officials and Union minister Sushma Swaraj, but haven’t got any response
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