Consular Services

Marital Issues of Indian nationals married to overseas Indians

The Ministry of External Affairs receives large number of complaints pertaining to marital issues from Indian women married to overseas Indians. Such cases include abandonment of wife in India, delays in sponsoring of visa by spouse, cases of spouse stopping all communications, harassment of women by husband and in-laws, ex-parte divorce by spouse etc. These cases often also include issues related to child custody. The Ministry and the Missions/Posts provide appropriate counselling, guidance and information to the aggrieved Indian women about legal procedures & mechanisms in such cases. The Indian Missions and Posts also conduct Walk-in sessions and Open House meetings for the distressed Indians including women to address their grievances. Grievances are also addressed through MADAD and CPGRAM portals. Further, Missions and Posts also maintain a 24x7 Helpline for emergency situations and assistance is also provided through Social Media platforms. Financial and legal assistance is provided under the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) to distressed NRI women, wherever applicable.