The Tibetan refugees living in India on the provision of the Registration Certificate (RC) from the host country India are now liable to be fined upto 500 US Dollars or thirty six thousands rupees if their RC renewal is delayed. The notice issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs/Foreigners Division, Government of India outlined the financial penalty amounts with respect to the extend of delay in time.
According to the notice, failure to renew the Registration Certificate/stay permit will be charged with financial penalty of USD 300 for delay upto 90 days, USD 400 for delay from 91 days to upto 2 years and USD 500 for delay exceeding 2 years. With regard to this, the department of security, Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamshala has also issued a circular informing Tibetan refugees of the penalty.
While the Department of Security has told of the fact that it has been repeatedly advising the Tibetans to apply for renewal os their RCs at least one month before the expiry, the department has clearly mentioned that since letting one’s RC expire is illegal as per the law of the country, it is very difficult provide any assistance from the office. According to the office’s interpretation of the financial penalty, it amounts to 21,600 for delay upto 90 days, 28,800 rupees for delay from 91 days to upto 2 years and 36,000 rupees for delay exceeding 2 years.
Although the government of India has provided a relaxation if validity of the Tibetan RCs to five years from one year, it is known that there are many Tibetans in various Tibetan settlements across India facing the burden of heavy financial penalty applicable to their delayed renewal of their RCs.