NOC for wife travelling alone?

 

Yes, that is a “mandatory” document needed by travel agents who will book your trip abroad. This bizarre and unwritten rule is not an urban legend, but has just been made mandatory by travel agents.

 

It all came to the fore when a flabbergasted Mahesh Shantaram, a photographer from Bengaluru, posted on Facebook how he and his wife denied to give an NOC for his wife’s trip to Malaysia. “This is not the first time my wife is traveling abroad alone.

 

Earlier, when she had applied for a visa I was already traveling so she had just said it wouldn’t be possible. But this time, I was sitting next to her and we were both against it. After I shared the post, I realised it’s not just us, but many others face the same problem,” he says.

 

And that’s how the campaign to say ‘no’ started. A little research later, Mahesh found that it’s not a mandatory document because if you visit the country’s consulate directly, they don’t ask for it. “For travel agents, it’s become a habit.

 

People ask me, why do we have to go to an agent? But the problem is that not every country’s consulate is there in Bengaluru or Hyderabad, so we have no option but to go to agents. My wife and I started researching on visa requirements and strangely found that it’s only France that actually states the requirement without being gender specific,” he says.

 

The official visa website for France reads, “NOC from spouse with a signature proof if any one of the couple is travelling for tourism purpose.” Travel agents in the city too have been asking for the document, many without a clue about why they need it. “While applying for a visa, it’s not just for married women, but single ladies too must get a NOC from their parents or a guardian,” says Radhu Ravipati of Om Tours & Travels. And does the same rule apply to men? “No” is the nonchalant reply.

 

The truth however, is that it’s not officially required. “The document is needed in a few Middle Eastern countries, only if the woman is not self-dependent. Sometimes, travel agents ask for it so that in case the consulate asks for it, the document is ready.

 

Although in Australia it’s not mandatory, they sometimes request for the document to know the financial security of the woman. If she’s a working woman representing an MNC, the document is not required,” says Ajay Kumar Ramidi, president of Travel Agents Association of India, AP and Telangana chapter.

 

And though it’s not officially required, Mahesh’s wife, who was traveling to Malaysia, was asked to submit the document, which is why Mahesh had asked for a ‘protest’. “When I say protest, I didn’t mean that we should stand with banners and shout against the issue.

 

But when you are asked for the document, don’t just meekly say yes. Refuse to give the document. As a man, I feel it’s demeaning to give my wife permission to travel,” says Mahesh.