The Scheme of  Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs(MOIA)  for providing legal/financial assistance to Indian women deserted or divorced by their overseas spouses has been revised in November, 2011 based on suggestions received from various quarters.

             The scope of the Scheme has been extended so as to cover as many of the needy Indian women who have been either deserted or divorced from funds available under the Scheme.

             Briefly, the scheme  would be available to Indian women who have been deserted by their overseas Indian / foreigner husbands or are facing divorce proceedings in a foreign country, subject to the following conditions:-

 (i) The woman is an Indian passport holder.

 (ii) The marriage of the woman has been solemnized in India or overseas with an overseas Indian or a foreigner.

(iii) The woman is deserted in India or overseas within fifteen years of the  marriage;

 or

 (iv) Divorce proceedings are initiated within fifteen years of the marriage by her overseas Indian / foreigner husband.

or

 (v) An ex-parte divorce has been obtained by the overseas Indian / foreigner husband within twenty years of marriage and a case for maintenance and alimony is to be filed by her.

 (vi) The scheme would not be available to a woman having a criminal case decided against her, provided that a criminal charge of Parental Child Abduction shall not be a bar if the custody of the child has not yet been adjudicated upon.

 (vii) The domicile of the Indian woman seeking relief under the Scheme is not relevant for allowing the benefit. The woman may be domiciled in the country of her overseas Indian / foreigner husband or in India at the time of making the application.

(viii) Preference will be given to applicants on the basis of financial need.

 (ix) Assistance will be provided to meet the legal and other costs, by the Heads of Indian Missions/Posts overseas directly to the applicant’s legal counsel empanelled with the concerned Indian Mission/Post, or through the Indian Community Associations /Women’s organizations / NGOs* acting on the woman’s behalf in an overseas legal institution.

 (x) The assistance will be limited to US$ 3000 per case and will be released to the empanelled legal counsel of the applicant or Indian Community Association / Women’s organization / NGO concerned to enable it to take steps to assist the woman in documentation and preparatory work for filing the case.

 (xi) The Indian Women’s Organizations / Indian Community Associations / NGOs will make efforts to enlist community advocates, preferably women advocates, to extend further legal assistance / appearance in court etc on a pro-bono basis.

 The Scheme has been posted on MOIA's website "http://moia.gov.in/".