Punjab issues advisory to curb emigration fraud by licensed travel agents after MEA alert
CHANDIGARH: With the mushrooming of illegal travel agents across Punjab and youth being lured and duped on the pretext of being sent abroad, the Punjab government has now issued an advisory following a missive from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
This comes in response to repeated violations of the Emigration Act by agents licensed under the Punjab Travel Professionals Regulation (PTPR) Act.
The advisory makes it mandatory for all licensed travel agents across the state to file monthly self-declarations with their respective Deputy Commissioners regarding the advertisements issued by them. This is aimed at enabling authorities to monitor and apprehend illegal agents or fly-by-night operators who lure youngsters through social media by offering assistance related to “work visas”, “work permits” or “employment visas”.
According to the advisory issued by the Passport Branch of the state government on June 20 to all Deputy Commissioners, Police Commissioners, and Senior Superintendents of Police, these directions follow reports of violations of the Emigration Act, 1983 by travel agents licensed under the PTPR Act, 2012.
It states, “The Government of Punjab has received communications from the Protector General of Emigrants, New Delhi, and Protector of Emigrants, Chandigarh, Ministry of External Affairs, highlighting that numerous travel agents registered under the PTPR Act are reportedly engaged in activities that contravene provisions of the Emigration Act.”
“It has been observed that certain PTPR-licensed travel agents are advertising employment and work visa opportunities for foreign countries, assisting individuals with ‘work permits’, ‘employment visas’ and other job-related travel services without the requisite Recruiting Agents Certificate or foreign employer permits as mandated under the Emigration Act. Accordingly, several FIRs have already been lodged by the Punjab Police NRI Wing against such agents,” it added.
The advisory further states that in light of these violations and to ensure strict compliance with legal provisions, the following directions are issued for immediate implementation: “Deputy Commissioners, being the competent authorities under the PTPR Act, shall regularly monitor the activities of travel agents, especially on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp. Monthly self-declarations must be obtained from all PTPR-licensed travel agents regarding their advertising and publicity practices.”
It further directs that all DCs and SSPs must continue district-level enforcement drives against illegal and unregistered travel agents, while also conducting awareness campaigns regarding safe and legal overseas migration.
Speaking to this newspaper, Yashu Deep Singh, Protector of Emigrants, Chandigarh, said, “The Ministry of External Affairs, through the Protector of Emigrants, Chandigarh, has been coordinating with the Punjab government on issues of emigration violations. As on date, more than 120 unregistered travel agents luring youth with overseas job offers have been detected by our office, and this information has been regularly shared with Punjab Police.”
He added, “Around 8,000 to 9,000 travel agents are registered under the Punjab Travel Professionals Regulation Act. Meanwhile, only 180 agents are registered with the Ministry of External Affairs. The agents licensed under PTPR are not authorized to send youth on overseas employment—only agents registered with the MEA are authorized for this job.”
“In the last six months, around 49 FIRs have been registered by Punjab Police and 13 by Chandigarh Police against these unauthorised agents,” he said.
Singh further added, “We have been regularly advising the youth not to get lured by advertisements issued on social media by fly-by-night operators.”