**Executive Summary**
Merchant Shipping Notice No. 05 of 2020, issued by the Directorate General of Shipping on February 14, 2020, provides clarifications regarding the e-Migrate system for seafarers and certain other personnel. The notice addresses difficulties faced by individuals at immigration checkpoints, specifying who is required to use the e-Migrate system and who is exempt. Bureau of Immigration (BoI) is expected to issue further instructions/clarification to immigration authorities.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **E-Migrate System Applicability:**
* Indian seafarers recruited for foreign flag merchant vessels must use the e-Migrate system.
* Seafarers are not required to show hard copies of CDC/CoC/STCW certificates or e-Migrate Form 1.
* **Exemptions from E-Migrate System:**
* Supernumeraries (spouse/children of seafarers) joining a ship.
* Non-seafarers as defined and classified by the Directorate General of Shipping (reference M.S. Notice No. 2 of 2018).
* Persons working on oil platforms/rigs, harbor ships, sailing/fishing vessels, inland vessels, pilot vessels, light house tenders, defense department vessels, trawlers, and yachts within Indian waters.
* Foreign OEM technicians or Observers.
* **Airline Guidance:**
* Airlines should not insist on printouts of e-Migrate confirmations due to potential misuse through Photoshop.
* **Port Verification:**
* Minor Indian seaports must have resources to verify e-Migrate status of Indian seafarers. Seafarers attempting to join ship without proper e-Migrate registration should not be allowed to join/continue on ship.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Seafarers**
* **Impact:** Clarification on documentation required for departure clearance and confirmation that passport is sufficient for non-seafarers.
* **Action Required:** Comply with e-Migrate system requirements if applicable; ensure data is correctly submitted and reflects in the e-migrate system well before departure, and understand their rights regarding document presentation to airlines.
**Stakeholder: Shipping Companies/RPSLs**
* **Impact:** Need to ensure seafarers' data is correctly submitted to the e-Migrate system.
* **Action Required:** Submit seafarer data well before the date and time of departure.
**Stakeholder: Airlines**
* **Impact:** Clarification on acceptable documentation for seafarers and guidance to avoid unnecessary document requests.
* **Action Required:** Refrain from insisting on e-Migrate printouts from seafarers.
**Stakeholder: Immigration Authorities**
* **Impact:** Need to verify e-Migrate status at all ports and understand which personnel are exempt.
* **Action Required:** Implement procedures to verify e-Migrate status; adhere to guidelines on exemptions. Bureau of Immigration (BoI) to issue suitable instructions/clarification to all immigration authorities at immigration check points at seaports & airports in India in accordance with these guidelines.
**Stakeholder: Ministry of Home Affairs, Gol or the State Administration**
* **Impact:** Need to provide resources to verify e-Migrate status
* **Action Required:** Ensure the required resources are in place at all such Minor ports to verify e-migrate status of Indian seafarers.
**Stakeholder: Shipping Agents**
* **Impact:** To facilitate verification of E-Migrate status
* **Action Required:** Facilitating Indian seafarers to sign on board Indian and foreign flag vessels from Minor Indian Seaports where there is no resource to verify the e-migrate status.
Key Entities Referenced
e-Migrate system: Online system for seafarers' immigration clearance
Directorate General of Shipping: The issuing authority of the notice
Merchant Shipping Notice: Refers to earlier notices and clarifies the applicability of the e-Migrate system
Seafarers: Subject of this document, specifically Indian seafarers employed on merchant vessels
Bureau of Immigration (BoI): Organization tasked with issuing instructions at immigration checkpoints
TIr(iT TTG6K / GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
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DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF SHIPPING, MUMBAI
Dated.14.02.2020
F No CR-2'1(1)/2010
Merchant Shiopino Notice No 05 of 2020
Directorate General of Shipping had vide its Merchant shipping Notice No.
7of2017(F.No.CR/GRW,\2l15-1dated11.08.2017)launchede.Migratesystem
for seafarers keeping in view the difficulties faced by lndian seafarers who are
recruitedandplacedonboardforeignflagvesselsbyunlicensedRecruitment
&PlacementService(RPS).TheDirectoratehasalsotimeandagainafter|aunch
of said e-Migrate system taken review/orientation sessions with the lndian ship
owners/RPSls to address any difficulty for uploading the data of seafarers in the
e-Migrate system, for smooth functioning of the said e-Migrate system'
2,ltisnotedthatSeafarers'supernumeraries(spouse/childrenofseafarer)'non-
seafarers(SuchaSshipsurveyors,auditors,doctors,superintendents),seafarers
working on harbor ships, lnland watemays ships and crafts' placed on board
ship are still facing problems as they are being asked by the immigration
authoritiestoproduceSTCWcertificateortheCDCortheprintoutofthee.
Migrate Form 1 etc. for their departure clearance'
3'lnthisconnectiontheissuesareclarifiedasundertomitigatesuchproblems:
3,1'seafarers:lndianseafarerswhoarerecruited&placedonmerchantVessels
of any flag are required to go through e-migrate system only lndian seafarers
who work on cruise vessels still do not possess lndian CDC' because CDC is
not a mandatory document for e-migrate and it is the passport which is the
Page 1 of 4
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$tyr8t No.: +9.1-22- 2s7s z!4ohru3 #fi/Fax.: +91-22-2 575 2o2gl35 {-tduEmall: dgshlp{gs@nic.ln tffif{Z/Web6lte: vwwv.dgr pphg.govlnidentification document for them ln the e-migrate system' a seafarer is not
required to show any document in the hard form such as CDC/CoC/STCW
course certificates or prlntout of Form 1 of e-Migrate system' as there is
proven misuse through Photoshop by unscrupulous elements"
3.2. Supernumeraries (spouse/children of seafarers): The supernumeraries
who are ioining ship are not required to go through e-migrate system They
arenotrequiredtopossesscertificatessuchasCDC/CoC/STCWcertificates
etc.
3-3.Non-seafarers:DirectorateGeneralofShippinghasdefinedandclassified
non-seafarers and facilitated them into the e-Migrate system through the M S
Notice No, 2 of 2o1B dated 16,01'2018. These persons may not be having
CDC/CoC/STCW course certificate and are out of the purview of Maritime
Labour convention and seafarers' employment agreement' ln the said e-
for these persons is their
Migrate system, the identification documents
passport. As such, other documents like CDC/CoC/STCW course certificates
or printout of Form 1 of e-Migrate system is not required'
4 Other persons: persons working on the following types of ships/crafts' in
differentcapacitiesinlndianwaterSarealsofacingdifficultyattheimmigration
checkpoints for their departure clearance as they are being asked to come
-
through e-Migrate system;
i)
oil Platforms/rigs
ii) harbor ships/crafts plying in harbor limit
iii) sailing vessels or fishing vessels
iv) lnland vessels registered by state Governments
v)
vessels
Pilot
vi)
light house/navaid tenders
vii) defense dePartment vessels
viii)
trawlers
ix)
Yachts
The person working on above types of vessels are not required to sign
ArticlesofAgreementorholdCDC/CoC/STCWcertificates.Hence,these
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Wrpersons are outside of purview of Maritime Labour convention and they are not
required to go through the e-Migrate system which is mandatory for seafarers
working on Merchant shiPs.
Further, it is also reported that before passing through the immigration departure
clearance, the seafarers are also asked by the Airlines to show the printouts of
the e-Migrate system. such instances are reported at the time when the airlines
checked in the baggage of the seafarer at the check-in counter of the airlines and
seafarer whose data is not found in the e-migrate system is disallowed by
lmmigration Department. The exercise to off load the baggage from the aircraft
by the airlines lead to delay the flight and hardship to the fellow passenger. The
Rps/lndian ship-owners should ensure that the data of seafarer concerned is
submitted and reflects in the e-migrate system well before the date and time of
departure. The Airlines however should be guided that they should not insist
printout of the e-migrate of the seafarer as there is a possibility of misuse by
unscrupulous elements through Photoshop. Airlines may be guided suitably by
the DGCA, Gol.
6 Shipping Agents are facilitating lndian seafarers to sign on board lndian and
foreign flag vessels from Minor lndian seaports where there is no resource to
verify the e-migrate status. seafarers who signed on without registering in the e-
migrate portal are intercepted at subsequent lndian Ports while in transit by the
lmmigration authorities of that Port. Ministry of Home Affairs, Gol or the state
Administration, as the case may be, may ensure that the required resources are
in place at all such Minor ports to verify e-migrate status of lndian seafarers.
Since, as per e-migrate system every lndian seafarer leaving lndian
SeaporUAirports for joining ship requires to go through e-migrate system, any
seafarer, except those exempted as per these guidelines, who attempts to join or
joined ship without e-migrate should not be allowed to join/continue on ship'
7. The oEM technician or observer, if happened to be a foreign national, are out of
the purview of e-migrate system. As such, joining on ship of these foreign
national oEM technician or observer will be as per usual channel of their
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)ttplacement by the ship-owner and are not required to go through e-migrate
system.
B. Bureau of lmmigration (Bol) may issue suitable instructions/clarification to all the
immigration authorities at immigration check points at seaports & airports in lndia
in accordance with these guidelines.
9. This issues with the approval of the Director General of Shipping &Additional
Secretary to the Government of lndia.
ai
(SubhashBarguzer)
Deputy Director General of Shipping(Crew)
Copy to.
1. All stakeholders through DGS website
2. Commissioner, Bureau of lmmigration
3
Chief Secretary, GujaraUMaharashtra/Goa/Karnataka/Kerala/Tamilnadu/Andhra
Pradesh/OrisaMest Bengal and UT of A&N/Lakshdweep
4.
Protector General of Emigrants
5
DGCA
6,
AII FRROS
7. Computer Cel. DGS for placing this notice in DGS website.
8. Assistant Director (OL) for Hindi translation
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