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India-Maldives relations
Why is it in news?
- India and Maldives exchanged an agreement to facilitate visas for travel between the two countries in a number of categories.
- It will ease a bilateral standoff which had resulted in thousands of Indian job seekers being denied work permits last year.
More in news
- Liberal visa regime for both:(1) This Agreement provides a very liberal visa regime for Maldivian nationals to visit India for tourism, business, education & medical purposes.(2) The agreement will ease visas on arrival for Indian businessmen and to Indians applying for work in the Maldives as its work permits will be issued within 15 days to Indian employees, and the visa fees will be paid by employers in the Maldives.
- What was concluded in agreement?(1) Under the agreement, the government will free up the visa regime for Maldives citizens who travel to India for medical reasons and for education in particular.(2) This will include allowing Maldives citizens who receive a visa on arrival in India to change their visa status to medical visas if they require hospitalisation during their stay.(3) Medical visas will also be granted to attendants to accompany patients.(4) The government has also agreed to grant visas for parents and other dependants to live in India while their children attend school here.
- The facilitation has been a long pending demand of the Maldives government, given the difficulties faced by thousands of short term visa applicants each year.
Source
The Hindu