Chinese Woman's Request For Visa Extension Got Denied By The Karnataka High Court

In refusing relief to an overstaying Chinese woman on Thursday, the Karnataka High Court urged that relevant requirements be included in visa paperwork so that visitors can exit from India as soon as their visa expires. Additionally, the court stated that assurance can be demanded from the relevant foreign countries that its national's travel documents will be cancelled when their VISA expires, making their expulsion easier in accordance with the concepts of Sovereignty and Reciprocity.

According to the court, an adequate provision might be established to prevent their admission into India on subsequent occasions. Apart from that, the penalties imposed for overstaying foreigners should be increased proportionally to the severity of the problem. Upon dismissing the plea brought by Li Dong, a 42-year-old Chinese national who lives in Srirangapatna in Mandya district, Justice Krishna S Dixit issued observations as well as suggestions.

The court did say, although, that the competent authorities could provisionally allow the petitioner to remain in India until the first trip to China is planned after the restoration of international air operations from India, but not beyond that. Following the issuance of 'Leave India Notices,' she has remained on Indian land for various reasons, particularly after her VISA had expired and had been prolonged owing to Covid-19.

The court remarked that in recent years, courts have seen an increase in the number of instances involving foreigners overstaying their visas and violating their visas. In a number of cases, it appears that the individual's concerned desire to maintain their presence in the Indian Territory in some way. Several cunning tactics are used to do this. Nevertheless, the petitioner's case may not be one of them. The court stated that in such a circumstance, the means is to commit a bailable offence and to initiate a prosecution that will most likely go on for a long time.

Furthermore, the court stated that the bail orders acquired by them are incorrectly viewed by the powers that be as VISA extensions, despite the vast differences between the two. A VISA extension is one thing, while a bail expansion is another.

Bail prevents detention and is usually awarded by the courts, whereas VISA is issued at the discretion of the union government officials. As per the court, in circumstances of VISA expiration, independent of the bail order, the accused aliens must be quarantined in accordance with the high court's findings in Christian Chideere Chukwu versus the State of Karnataka.