Britain Asks India to Take Overstaying Indians Back

New Delhi (Sputnik) — In the Home Affairs talks, the two sides discuss bilateral issues such as extradition, counter-terrorism and illegal immigration. This time, Britain raised the issue of Indians who overstay their visa which is an internal security threat. Britain claims that more than a 1,000 Indians overstay their visas every year.

"UK has been able to identify in the region of about one thousand illegal immigrants from India a year. We made it clear that it is a matter of policy for India that anybody identified as an Indian, who is illegally in the UK, we will expedite his or her return," Indian Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi told media.

"The two countries are working together to improve the process of returning those illegally staying in Britain," Rajiv Mehrishi added.

Britain also raised the issue of illegal immigration from India. The two countries are said to have discussed the extradition of fugitive business tycoon Vijay Mallya.

Mallya fled to the UK last year and was arrested by Scotland Yard on an extradition warrant. He was released on bail after few hours. India is pursuing the extradition case against Mallya as he owes a large amount of money to various Indian banks.

The Indian side also raised the matter related to visas such as delay in getting visas, exorbitant charges etc. Mehrishi also discussed the issue of women abandoned by NRIs after their marriage back home in India.

The India-UK Home Affairs Dialogue was co-chaired by Indian Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and UK Permanent Secretary Philip Rutnam. The dialogue was set up during Prime Minister Theresa May's visit to India last year.