The Indian government has not brought any changes to the criteria under which it grants visas to travelers from the Maldives.
At a press conference from India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday, spokesperson Raveesh Kumar responded to questions about the visa process.
Local media outlets had last week reported that there were Maldivian residents in India who have struggled with visa extensions and of being unable to attain student visas.
Moments after the panel at the conference called for questions, journalists subjected them to ones about the Maldives – notably about a recent article published on a Maldivian news website about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the relation between the Maldives and India.
Raveesh Kumar said that the Indian government has not taken the issue seriously and that it is not looking into the matter.