CHENNAI: In a bid to ease the process of granting emigration clearance to workers with ECR passports for their employment abroad, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is set to introduce digital signature of respective Protector of Emigrants across the country from January 16.

This initiative means the applicant need not wait to collect the passport endorsed with Protector of Emigrants (PoE) clearance stickers, after submitting the required documents, as he can download the clearance online with the digital signature of the respective PoE from January 16, official sources said. The practice of physically pasting PoE stickers on the applicants' passports would be discontinued from January 16, they said.

The decision is part of the e-migrate system launched by the Ministry last year aimed at easing the process of granting emigration clearance. The official website of the Ministry's e-Migrate also displays a ticker, which reads, "Please note printing of PoE stickers will be discontinued with effect from January 16, 2015."

Persons possessing ECR (Emigration Check Required) endorsed passports and going to any of the 17 countries – United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Sudan, Brunei, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon and Thailand – for taking up employment require emigration clearance.

The emigration clearance is granted by Protector of Emigrants in respective states after scrutinising applications for accuracy in particulars mentioned, provided the recruiting agent and employer abroad are recognised by the Ministry.

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