This summer, if you are planning a vacation abroad, check carefully about approaching travel agencies or the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) regarding your visa procedures. The IRCTC, which has begun offering services like honeymoon packages to its patrons, has been demanding brides to procure no-objection certificates (NOC) from their parents. However, the US consulate has clarified that an NOC is not part of the list of documents needed to procure a visa, and any such demand by the IRCTC is inaccurate.
Sources said that marriage certificate, marriage invitation cards from both partners and photographs of the couple during the marriage ceremony are all part of the list of documents sought by the IRCTC. In case the wife is a widow, she also has to provide the husband's death certificate, although no such document is needed if a widower applies.
The IRCTC recently started planning international tour packages, and it claims requirements have to be fulfilled by every travel agency operating to US or Europe. "This is a standard prerequisite of the visa process, and not an IRCTC-formulated regulation," the tour operator said in an email. "We are a gender neutral and gender sensitive organisation. No such rules are framed by IRCTC Ltd as a tourism organisation."
In fact, when DNA checked with other tour operators, their list too contained NOC from girls' parents and a stamped paper duly attested by a notary as being part of the list of documents needed for a US visa.
Meanwhile, the US consulate thanked DNA for bringing it to its notice. Nick Novak, spokesperson for the US consulate general, said, "The US doesn't require any kind of letter from an adult woman's parents to apply for a visa.”
Visa Power, Can’t Get It
- IRCTC recently got into planning international tour packages, and said such requirements have to be fulfilled by all agencies.
- The body has also demanded marriage certificates, wedding invites, and photographs from honeymooning couples
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