Japanese return to India with wives, children as Indian Govt issues Spouse Visa

NEW DELHI:  Even as the count of Coronavirus positive cases keeps increasing in India, the Japanese nationals along with their families have started to return and resume work here.

A Japan Airlines flight carrying 162 Japanese including 13 women and children landed at the IGI Airport in New Delhi on Friday.

As many as 36 of these passengers were those who were issued Spouse Visas by the Indian authorities for the first time ever since international flights were suspended in March this year due to virus pandemic.

About 6000 along with their families of the total 12,000 Japanese nationals living and working in India had gone back to Japan till June this year as offices, industrial units, and educational institutions were closed during the lockdown period.

But now India unlocks normal activities including business operations, the Japanese executives have started to return and join work.

“The first flight carrying 168 Japanese professionals had landed in New Delhi on August 5 after the international flights were suspended in India. But there were no women and children on the flight at that time. On Friday, August 28, the JAL flights from Haneda to New Delhi had 162 Japanese passengers including 13 women and children on board,” Kenji Sugino, Secretary-General, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India (JCCII), that chartered the flight told Asian Community News (ACN) Network.

Sugino said since the Indian authorities had started issuing spouse visas, many Japanese professionals would want to return to India along with their families.

Also read: [EXCLUSIVE] Japan wants India to open aviation borders for its Japanese professionals