Centre Scraps 20-Year-Old Rules for Indian Sailors
Sonowal said the Narendra Modi government was committed to empowering Indian seafarers
NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry on Thursday abolished two decades-old immigration procedures for Indian sailors operating along the country’s coastlines, bringing major relief to seafarers who had long complained of delays and cumbersome paperwork. Welcoming the decision, Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said it fulfilled a long-standing demand of the maritime community.
The government scrapped two key requirements for the crew of Indian-flag vessels, ships, dredgers, barges and research vessels, that operate only within Indian port limits: the coastal sign-on and sign-off system, and the “shore leave pass” (SLP) procedure.
Earlier, sailors were required to complete extensive paperwork similar to international immigration checks, despite travelling only between Indian ports. They also needed a shore leave pass, renewed every 10 days, to step off the vessel. Every crewmember had to personally visit an immigration office to obtain and renew the pass, a process that was widely seen as burdensome and disruptive to essential duties on board.
Recognising that these vessels operate exclusively in domestic waters, the home ministry declared the time-consuming immigration procedures obsolete and simplified the framework. Under the new rules, sailors on Indian-flag coastal vessels no longer need coastal sign-on/sign-off paperwork or the 10-day SLP renewal.
Sonowal said the Narendra Modi government was committed to empowering Indian seafarers. “Under the leadership of Amit Shah ji, the home ministry has abolished decades-old requirements of sign-on, sign-off and shore leave passes for Indian vessels operating in Indian waters,” he wrote on X.
In a communication issued on Thursday, the ministry asked the ports, shipping and waterways ministry to direct port authorities to maintain records and data of crew and supernumeraries on Indian-flag coastal vessels. The Bureau of Immigration will conduct periodic surprise inspections and seek crew lists from such vessels, including dredgers, barges and research ships.
The ministry added that shore access for crew and supernumerary personnel will now be regulated by the respective port authorities.
