Jailhouse tourism, or a new long-stay visa

It could be called the very cheapest sort of holiday: spending the duration of a jail sentence incarcerated in a comfy European prison. The Dutch justice ministry’s announcement that it will close eight prisons and cut 1,200 jobs in that sector could prove to be an opportunity: India could outsource a few of its sentenced criminals there.


Since India is unlikely to face the eventuality anytime soon of such a dip in crime that prisons become empty and unviable, this could be just the solution to the problem of stuffed jails. In the past, Belgium had also transferred prisoners there to lessen the load on its own jails — and paid the Dutch well for it — so there is already a precedent.

Like the “pilot” project by the British to selectively levy a bond on visas to “high-risk” Indians, this country could just as selectively send our convicts there. It would not only remedy the problem of overcapacity that Dutch jails now face, it would also save jobs in Europe instead of taking them away, which is the usual accusation levelled against India.

Some well-heeled ones like Sanjay Dutt would probably gladly fund their own incarceration in more salubrious climes. The Indian jail staff would also welcome the move, as contingents of them would also have to be posted abroad as liaisons if not actual guards in the Dutch prisons.