1. The 1st Republic of Korea-Republic of India meeting of directors-general for consular affairs took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on October 4. It was co-chaired by Director-General for Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs Woo In-shik of the ROK Foreign Ministry and Joint Secretary of the Consular, Passport and Visa Division Amrit Lugun of the Ministry of External Affairs of India.

o The two sides said that the meeting held significance as it took place for the first time as part of measures to follow up on the ROK-India summit in July, and that it helped establish a useful institutional foundation to discuss in depth ways the two countries can work together in consular affairs.

2. In the meeting, the two sides especially reviewed the current state of cooperation in a range of consular affairs, including improving convenience for people entering or leaving, or staying in each other’s countries, facilitating people-to-people exchanges, and protecting their nationals staying in each other’s countries. They also agreed to continue to step up cooperation in consular affairs.

o (Increasing the period of stay for employment visa holders) Regarding the ROK side’s request made at the bilateral summit in July that the period of stay for Korean nationals with a long-term employment visa be extended from the current one year to the same period as the validity of the employment visa, the Indian side said that it was actively reviewing the issue to swiftly take measures to allow Korean nationals who have completed the foreigner registration process to stay up to three years.

o (Issuing a visa on arrival to Korean nationals) The ROK side asked the Indian side to smoothly implement the issuance of a visa on arrival for Korean nationals, which started on October 1, 2018, as part of a project to follow up on the bilateral summit in July. The Indian side said that they had already begun to issue a visa on arrival to Korean nationals at six international airports, including Delhi airport, and that they would continue to take necessary steps, including improving related infrastructure, to make sure that Korean nationals do not experience any inconvenience during the process for the issuance of a visa on arrival.

※ Visa on arrival

- Airports where the visa is issued: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata airports

- Eligibility: ordinary passport holders entering India for the purposes of business, tourism, attending a meeting, or medical treatment

- Fee: 2,000 Rupees (equivalent to 30 dollars)

- Matters that require attention: The visa, which is valid for 60 days, is a double entry visa that cannot be extended. It is impossible to switch the visa to other types of visas during stay.

o (Cooperation to protect their nationals overseas) The two sides agreed to continue to closely work together, including in establishing a hotline between the two countries, as there is a growing need to protect their nationals in each other’s countries, with people-to-people exchanges between the two countries continuing to increase.

- In particular, the ROK side stressed the need to jointly respond to the issue by establishing a cooperation channel between the Indian authorities and the ROK’s diplomatic missions, and offered to set up a hotline between the ROK’s diplomatic missions in India and the Indian authorities.

3. The two sides shared the view that substantive cooperation in consular affairs would help increase people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, and serve as an important foundation for cooperation in other areas, including political, economic, social and cultural affairs. They also agreed to hold the second ROK-India meeting of directors-general for consular affairs in India at an appropriate time in the second half of next year.

* unofficial translation