India Denies 'Work Ban' Claim Made By French Journalist Sebastien Farcis, Says Permit Under Review

A day after French journalist Sebastien Farcis claimed that he was "forced to leave the country" after his work permit was denied, India has rebuked these allegations.

Randhir Jaiswal, Ministry of External Affairs' spokesperson stated that the claims made by Farcis are false and that his journalist permit is currently under review.

"Sebastien Farcis is an OCI card holder. If you are an OCI card holder, you need permission or a work permit to carry on your journalistic activities. He applied in May of 2024 and his application is still under consideration," stated Jaiswal.

"The question of his leaving the country is a decision for him to take. If he has taken it, that's fine. But, his work permit application is still under consideration. He had reapplied it here in May of 2024," the MEA spokesperson added further.

On June 20, the French journalist took to social media platform and alleged that his permit had been denied by the Ministry of Home Affairs and that he had been forced to leave the country after working as a correspondent for South Asia for the past 13 years.

“Three months ago, on 7th March, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) denied the renewal of my journalist permit, preventing me from practising my profession and depriving me of all my income. No reason has been provided to justify this work ban, despite formal and repeated requests made to the MHA. I have tried to appeal also, but to no avail so far,” stated Farcis on X.

Farcis was the second French journalist that was allegedly "forced to leave India". The first instance was reported in February 2024 when Journalist Vanessa Dougnac alleged that her OCI card has been cancelled by the Home Affairs Ministry for "creating a biased negative perception" of India.