New Delhi: An Israeli couple found themselves caught in an immigration nightmare despite holding stamped passports in India. Kai Doav and Binyamin Rivlin, both 22, were stopped at the Indira Gandhi International Airport while trying to board a flight to Thailand. Authorities at Delhi airport accused them of illegal entry due to a lack of digital records.
The couple had legally re-entered India by road from Nepal, where the border crossing still uses handwritten records instead of digital ones. However, since there was no digital trace of their arrival, Indian officials barred them from flying and stamped their passports with a red mark, branding them as having entered illegally.
The two were detained at the Delhi airport for over eight hours without being provided even with a chair for rest. Kai described the treatment as humiliating. “We begged just to go outside and smoke under escort, but they threatened jail. They laughed in our faces. We weren’t even allowed to leave the terminal,” she recounted. Indian immigration officials have advised the couple to contact the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), a process that could take weeks or even months.
During the row, Kai said she was in touch with the Foreign Minister and his adviser, who attempted to assist by reaching out to the embassy in Delhi. While their involvement helped resolve the issue to some extent, the couple was informed that the resolution could still take some time.
The Israeli embassy in Delhi confirmed the case and acknowledged that such issues, though rare, do happen. The couple, who had spent nearly three months traveling in India, were eventually allowed to move to a nearby hotel.
Kai said that they are not allowing them to stay in or leave and that they are just stuck and want the nightmare to end. Israeli diplomatic officials are working to resolve the matter, but the couple fears being fined, detained, or facing long-term travel consequences due to the red stamp.
