Italian nun with expired visa gets 1-year extension

Sister Bertilla Capra, the 77-year-old Italian nun from Versova who was asked to leave the country after her visa lapsed, has been granted a visa for a period of one year. “Sr Bertilla can now stay till November 2016. Thereafter she will have to apply afresh under the new rules,”” said Sr Tessie, her colleague at a dermatological centre in Versova. Activist Abraham Mathai who runs an NGO called Indian Christian Voice, had claimed Sr Bertilla was facing “”deportation”” despite having “worked for the cause of lepers in India since 40 years.” However, the home ministry had clarified that it was not a case of deportation. Sr Bertilla’s visa had expired and she needed to apply under a different category. Until 2010 she had to renew her papers every five years. That year the rules changed to yearly renewal. In December Mathai had networked with his sources in New Delhi and urged the nun to meet officials in the home ministry. It is not known if the government took a lenient view of the matter owing to Sr Bertilla’s age or work experience. On Tuesday, Mathai said he was “”very grateful”” to the authorities for having considered her case favourably. TOI