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A deliberate obstacle course, says immigration lawyer

Vaiju Naravane

Paris: France has toughened its immigration policies to such an extent that its embassy in New Delhi issues barely 50 visas a day. Foreigners residing in France are finding it increasingly difficult to become naturalised citizens.

It is almost impossible to fill the naturalisation forms correctly.

"The entire process takes years. In which Third World country will you be able to obtain your parents' birth certificate if they were born in the 1920s or their marriage certificate if they tied the knot in the 40s or 50s? In the absence of proper certificates, authorities here refuse to validate affidavits verified by magistrates and certified by the Foreign Ministries of the countries concerned. The process has been deliberately made an obstacle course," says immigration lawyer Michel Puechavy.

France talks about wanting "quality immigration" but appears to do little to help qualified foreign labour working on its soil. A young Indian, Vikram L, who has a 10-year resident card and owns a small studio flat in Paris, got married last September. His wife has still not joined him and immigration services here say her visa could take another six months.

"I am clearly not an illegal immigrant. I earn twice as much as the minimum wage, have a stable job, an excellent education. I am not a burden on the French taxpayer, quite the contrary. Every single paper is in order and yet they treat me like dirt and put unnecessary hurdles on my path. I am seriously thinking of selling my flat and moving to London or Germany. My skills as a specialised airline chef are very much in demand and I will have no trouble finding another job," Vikram L, son of a former Air force officer told The Hindu .

If India and France truly wish to establish a strong strategic partnership, waging covert visa wars is certainly not the best way of going about it.

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