4 days ago
Now, visa to be issued in a day, says Bandi Sanjay
Hyderabad/New Delhi: In a major reform aimed at streamlining travel and immigration processes, the central government has announced that visas can now be issued within a single day, provided all required documents are submitted. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar chaired a high-level review meeting with senior officials of the Foreign Affairs Department at North Block on Wednesday, focusing on visa simplification and enhanced monitoring of illegal immigrants.
Officials briefed the Minister on the progress made in visa reforms. The number of visa sub-categories has been reduced from 26 to 22, and the earlier 104 sub-classifications have been streamlined to 69. As a result, the average visa issuance time has dropped significantly, with 65.15% of all visas in 2024 being issued as e-Visas.
To further strengthen immigration control, two new portals — District Police Module (DPM) and Foreigners Identification Portal (FIP) — have been launched. These platforms aim to improve tracking of overstayers and illegal immigrants at the district level.
The modernization of Immigration Check Posts (ICPs) was also reviewed. Officials reported that the number of ICPs has increased from 82 in 2014 to 114, including 37 air, 37 road, 34 sea, and 6 railway posts. Automated travel document scanning and biometric enrollment facilities have been introduced to expedite processing.
The Fast-Track Immigration Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP), currently operational in eight major airports, allows pre-verified passengers to clear immigration in under a minute. This facility will soon be extended to seven more airports, including Kozhikode, Lucknow, and Amritsar.
Additionally, the revamped OCI portal has facilitated the issuance of nearly 50 lakh Overseas Citizen of India cards. A dedicated mobile app for CAA-2019 applicants from six minority groups in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh has also been launched. Commending the officials, Bandi Sanjay directed that all reforms and public-facing services be effectively communicated at the grassroots level to ensure ease of access and transparency for citizens.
