Indian investors in UAE need not register online

Dubai - The objective is to keep track of people who are exiting India for employment to any ECR countries.

Indian expatriates with investor visas and dependent visas do not need to register on India's eMigrate platform, according to an FAQ document and advisory released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Overseas Employment Division on Thursday.
Diplomatic mission heads in Dubai also confirmed that all Indian expatriates working in the UAE with an emigration check not required (ECNR) passport have to do a mandatory one-time registration on the country's e-migrate platform, www.emigrate.gov.in, 21 days or at least 24 hours before they leave from India. 
All you need to know about e-Migrate registration
Consul-General of India to Dubai Vipul confirmed dependents of Indian expatriates, such as spouses, children and parents, working in the UAE need not register on the platform. The rule is applicable to all Indian nationals working in all 18 ECR countries listed by India's MEA.
Failure to do so will result in the off-loading of unregistered non-ECNR emigrants at all international airports across India, starting January 1, 2019. Their registration confirmation would be verified by the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) at emigration counters prior to their departure.
Mandatory for holiday-goers
Vipul said: "If you are working in an ECR nation and you have an employment visa stamped on your passport, you will have to register on the eMigrate platform. Spouses or children who have jobs, but are on a dependent visa, need not register on the platform. 
All Indian expats working in UAE must register online
Expatriates travelling to India on a short holiday or an emergency trip are also required to complete the registration, confirmed Vipul. "The process does not take more than five minutes," he explained.
The FAQ document added: "Those already working overseas are not required to register while they are overseas. However, if they come on vacation and are returning back on the same employment they would need to register. This is only required one-time for a given employment duration." Residents would need to re-register once they undergo an employment change as well. The advisory also said the decision will not affect investors.
Conversion to ECR from ECNR
The eMigrate system was launched by the Indian government on June 1, 2015, to reduce the number of fraudulent jobs offers in India, particularly targeted at the country's working class. "It is also to keep track of the numbers of people who are exiting India for employment in any of the ECR countries. Furthermore, the workforce of Indians in ECR countries are very high. This decision has been made to safeguard their interests," he added.
The statement from MEA also said: "The objective for this registration is to capture the data of Indian emigrants so that they can be reached without delay in case of any eventuality. Implementation of this registration is only Phase I of the plan so as to ensure that the system works smoothly and there are no hiccups."
For passengers who require emigration check, or (ECR) passport holders, the status will convert to ECNR after three years of overseas employment. "In this case, they will register like all other ECNR passport holders going for employment to ECR countries and they will not be required to obtain emigration check (EC)," added the FAQ.
Afghanistan, Bahrain, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Thailand, UAE and Yemen are the 18 countries listed by India.
Indian mobile number must for registration
Since a one-time password (OTP) is required to complete the registration on the platform, expatriates are required to use an Indian mobile number to finish the formality. "It is not required that the SIM card is registered under your name. As long as it is an Indian number, it is fine," added Vipul.
 dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
 

• UAE