67,945 foreign nationals overstayed last year

With Afghanistan and Iraq in the midst of turmoil, thousands of nationals of the two countries who visited India, reportedly overstayed in violation of their visa conditions.

As many as 13,744 out of the total 67,945 foreign nationals that overstayed in India in 2011, were from Afghanistan, minister of state for home, said Mullappally Ramachandran.

The numbers of such Afghan nationals has remained consistently high. In 2009 there were 13,569 Afghans who were found to be overstaying, and 13,747 in 2010.

While Afghanistan is staring at a drawdown of US-led coalition forces in 2014 with fear of the country being overrun by the Taliban, Iraq has plunged into political turmoil following the withdrawal of coalition forces last December.

Government statistics for last three years shows a surge in the numbers of Iraqi nationals who overstayed in India.  In 2009, the home ministry found 669 Iraqi nationals overstaying in India. In 2010, the number increased to 979. That figure more than doubled to 2,038 in 2011.

“As entry of illegal migrants into the country, without valid travel documents, is clandestine, it is not possible to have any data of such illegal migrants missing in India. However, a number of foreign nationals who have entered into the country on valid travel documents, have been found to be overstaying,” Ramachandran told Rajya Sabha.

But, by far the largest number of illegally staying persons are from Bangladesh, which shares a long and porous border with India.