Hundreds of Indian nurses who were banned from obtaining Irish visas for five years due to a recruitment scam can now breathe a sigh of relief. The Migrant Nurses Ireland (MNI) successfully intervened, leading to the lifting of the ban.
Last year, a man named Suraj in Dublin swindled large sums of money from nurses in India, including many Malayalis, through fake interviews and documents. When the fraudulent employment permits were discovered, the Indian Embassy rejected their visas and imposed a five-year ban.
After the scam was exposed and Suraj surrendered to the police, the embassy recognized the nurses as victims rather than perpetrators. Thanks to MNI’s efforts, the embassy reassured that the visa ban would be lifted.
The embassy has started emailing affected nurses, confirming that the bans have been lifted. The emails acknowledge that the nurses were innocent victims of fraud. The nurses are now eligible to reapply for Irish visas. They are advised to mention the fraud incident in future visa applications to clarify the reason for the initial visa denial.