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I'm a citizen of Sri Lanka. I visited India on a tourist visa in 2007. I didn't overstay and didn't have any issues when coming back. But when I applied for a visa in 2012 for business a visit I was granted the visa but was deported at Chennai airport, being told my passport was blacklisted. They couldn't give me any explanation except to say the Indian government doesn't give me permission to enter their country.

Now I need to travel in a week for a business visit.

How do I get my passport removed from the blacklist?

Even if I get the visa without removal from the list, I'm concerned that they may deport me once again.

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    And have you applied for a visa? Surely you would want to see whether the Indian government would grant you a visa for a trip that's only a week away.
    – Giorgio
    Commented Feb 9, 2017 at 4:34
  • @pnuts new passport would carry a reference to the old one and both need to be submitted when applying for a visa
    – manas
    Commented Feb 9, 2017 at 5:03
  • @Dorothy i thought not to take a risk, in case they updated their systems, and may stamp a refusal in my passport. which might cause issues entering other countries.
    – manas
    Commented Feb 9, 2017 at 5:05
  • Wouldn't it be worse to be refused entry again and, perhaps, invoke a ban? If you think your passport is 'blacklisted' by the Indian government, the only way to lift that sanction is to contact the Indian government. Applying for a visa does that and would get you an explanation of the problem, if any, and how to remedy it.
    – Giorgio
    Commented Feb 9, 2017 at 14:00
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    Once you've checked with your own country's government to make sure that there isn't a problem regarding your passport (reported lost/stolen/false), then applying to India for a visa would seem to be the next logical step.
    – Giorgio
    Commented Feb 13, 2017 at 3:04

3 Answers 3

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+25

You've left this awfully late, my friend. There's 2 things I would suggest you do at this point (not sure if they'll help you with this trip though, seeing as you need to travel in 2 days)

  1. Contact/visit the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka and speak to them about the issue. They may be able to offer some clarity as to why you were refused entry and deported.
  2. Speak to the Department of Immigration and Emigration in Sri Lanka, and see if they can offer some insight into the status of your passport. You may need to apply for a new one, which will most likely take longer than a week.

Best of luck!

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    the 1st option sounds too obvious. i understand that's the best option we have at the moment. in anycase, do we have any cases where such removal of passport blacklisting in indian immigration before?
    – manas
    Commented Feb 20, 2017 at 8:37
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Your case is the same as mine. But I have overstayed for 11 years. 4 years back when I applied for tourist visa, they have granted me a visa but refused entry in Chennai airport. Then I approached high commission and explained my need to visit to India. The high commissioner gave a letter stating the reason. Immigration officials in Chennai have granted entry accepting the letter after a week of the first refused entry.

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    Overstaying for eleven years isn't remotely the same as visiting once and leaving on time!!!
    – David Richerby
    Commented Jan 14, 2019 at 23:47
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I applied for a business visa through my company and got it rejected. In the meantime I got the opportunity to speak with one of the visa officers. His explanation is to directly contact Ministry of Home Affairs in India (via email) and appeal my case.

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  • Rejection is not the same as being blacklisted.
    – Burhan Khalid
    Commented Mar 8, 2017 at 6:23
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    @BurhanKhalid thanks. but the reason for rejections is being on the blacklist
    – manas
    Commented Mar 9, 2017 at 9:13

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