Bengaluru, Aug 7: There are around 20,000 foreign nationals staying in different parts of Karnataka and more than 1,000 of them are overstaying, according to police.
A senior police officer said that as many as 1,076 foreign nationals staying in Karnataka have violated visa terms and are overstaying, and Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) authorities, along with the city police, are trying to track them down.
Of the 1,076 foreigners who are overstaying, 975 are in Bengaluru, he added.
The police said 20,000 was merely an official figure as foreign nationals who visit the country with short-term visas, including business and tourist visas, need not have to register with the FRRO.
Some of them get involved in criminal activities here, which enables them to stay here further as the cases drag on, the police said.
“This is an area of concern as there are many foreign nationals who visit Bengaluru every day with short-term visas. Some people go off the radar and change locations. By the time FRRO officials get to know about them overstaying, they would been booked in some case by the police. They then get out on bail and continue staying here,” a senior official said.
An example of this is of the foreign nationals detained by the city police and FRRO officials on July 21 for alleged possession of drugs. Six of the 117 foreign nationals detained have had criminal cases booked against them under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and they cannot leave the country till the cases reach their logical end.
“While the rest of the detained foreign nationals will be deported on priority, those facing criminal cases will be allowed to stay till the cases reach a logical conclusion. This may take at least three to five years and the accused, despite not having valid documents, come out on bail and continue to stay citing this reason,” a senior police officer said. This, police officials said, is a grey area as foreign nationals use this to their advantage to stay back in India.
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