Work visa not a foreigner's right: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has refused relief to a foreign national, who had challenged the denial of employment visa on the ground that it violated her fundamental rights.

The division bench of Justices P B Majmudar and Mridula Bhatkar, which had observed during the hearing that not all fundamental rights were available to foreign nationals, rejected the petition on Thursday.

Petitioner Lulila Leonid Stelmakh, an Ukranian, had moved the court in August when her visa application was rejected. The reason given by the authorities was that she was going to get less than USD 25,000 (Rs 11.4 lakh) annually in her job in India. For getting employment visa, rules require that an applicant must be having a job in India offering income above a certain level.

Stelmakh had secured a job as an analyst with J P Morgan Services, India. Her lawyers argued that this rule violated Article 21, which provided her right to livelihood, and Article 14 which guarantees right to equality. Besides, she also had a right to equal opportunities in matters of employment under Article 16 of the Constitution of India, they said.

But the Union government had argued that a foreign national did not enjoy all rights under articles 14 and 21.