PANAJI
A pending United Nations refugee application cannot be used to stall immigration action in India, the High Court of Bombay at Goa has ruled while dismissing a Russian woman’s plea to extend her stay in the country.
Petitioner Aleksandra Kuznetsova and her two minor daughters had filed a petition claiming that returning to Russia was unsafe.
The order pronounced by Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar comes as immigration officials in Goa confront a growing number of foreigners allegedly invoking United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) documentation to prolong their stay after their visas expire.
Officials told The Goan that around four foreigners, including three Iranians, have cited refugee-related claims or documents in attempts to resist immigration action – matters which are pending before the High Court.
In the present case, Kuznetsova and her daughters entered India on tourist visas on October 8, 2024, and their visas expired on October 7, 2025. Court information revealed that she submitted to the court that she could not return to Russia because of the war with Ukraine and had applied to the UNHCR on June 27, 2025, seeking asylum in Brazil, Ecuador or Paraguay. In the meantime, she continued to stay in India and applied for a visa extension. The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) rejected her applications for visa conversion and extension.
The Bench found that despite the petition pending since November 2025, Kuznetsova had taken no steps to establish refugee status or pursue asylum in the countries she had named. A communication from the UNHCR dated September 1, 2026, indicated that she could seek asylum upon arrival in Brazil, but did not confer refugee status.
The Court thus dismissed the petition, leaving the family free to pursue refugee status through available legal channels. It also directed the transfer of Rs 25,000 deposited with the court towards the penalty imposed by the FRRO.
Officials said UNHCR was increasingly being cited by overstaying foreigners, particularly Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians, in attempts to resist deportation or avoid police action. Some documents are suspected to have been issued through an agency based in Pune, which is under investigation, a source said.
“India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. A UNHCR card does not legalise an overstay or override Indian immigration laws,” a senior official said, warning that such documents do not exempt foreign nationals from Indian immigration requirements.
