Abid Raja, a lawyer and former reserve Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party, can finally take up a new job at the Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi after encountering a lengthy delay in obtaining a visa from India.
Raja, who started working for Norway’s Foreign Ministry last year, was supposed to move with his family to India and start his new job in early July, but the lack of a visa for either himself or family members halted the move. They’d been waiting since March, until the visas came through on Thursday.
“Very glad, humble and grateful for the opportunity to serve the realm in the world’s largest democracy,” Raja wrote on Twitter. “Leaving Sunday.”
He’ll be working as visa attaché himself at the embassy, handling the applications of Indians who want to travel to Norway. It remained unclear why it took so long to get his own visa, since Raja had applied at the Indian Embassy in Oslo early last spring.
There was speculation that Raja’s ethnic background from Pakistan may have contributed to the delay, because of hostilities between India and Pakistan. Raja refused to believe that, however, and Indian officials offered no reason.
Views and News staff
