The government is changing the visa rules to help Indians who get married on foreign soil.

The decision came after a Filipino, who married an Indian outside the country, ran into difficulties in converting her tourist visa into a X2 visa (dependent visa) as the rules did not permit it. The husband brought the issue to the notice of Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Twitter.

“We are doing away with the particular rule and simplifying it so that irrespective of the place of wedding, foreign spouses can convert their tourist visas to dependent visas,” a senior official of the Ministry said.

According to the visa manual, a tourist visa can be converted into a X2 visa only when a marriage takes place in India and gets registered within the validity of the present tourist visa.

“Now, the Home Minister has directed the MHA [the Ministry of Home Affairs] to amend the visa rules and streamline the process. This change will facilitate the conversion of tourist visa into X2 [visa] even when the marriage takes place on foreign soil,” Mr. Singh’s Twitter handle posted on July 7.

However, the facility will not be offered to the nationals of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan and Iraq, and people of Pakistani origin and stateless persons.

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