A massive rush for visas to India in recent months has caused the Indian High Commission in London to announce Monday the reinstatement of the electronic visa (e-visa) for UK travellers.
Vikram Doraiswami, Indian High Commissioner to the UK, said the service would start “forthwith”, and High Commission officials confirmed travellers could apply for e-visas to India beginning this week. The upgrade process is underway, and the Indian visa website will soon be ready to accept e-visa applications.
“We’re rolling out e-Visas again today,” Doraiswami announced on Twitter. “This should make travelling to India much easier for friends from the UK,” he said.
Delighted that eVisa is back! Friends can start applying online within a day. Do keep giving us your feedback, as always. https://t.co/LnyuNeRKSh
— Vikram Doraiswami (@VDoraiswami) December 5, 2022
As soon as the Indian High Commissioner tweeted the news, it was dubbed “excellent” and “wonderful”.
On the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Indonesia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Rishi Sunak, discussed e-visas, according to the UK Parliament.
Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @RishiSunak in conversation during the first day of the @g20org Summit in Bali. pic.twitter.com/RQv1SD87HJ
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 15, 2022
Several steps have been taken to improve Indian visa processing facilities, including a new Indian visa center in central London and Visa at Your Doorstep (VAYD), to address high post-pandemic travel demand from the UK.
VFS Global, an outsourcing and technology service provider for governments and diplomatic missions, runs the new India Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Marylebone. This has also made it easier for groups to travel together, usually via a travel agency, to the same destination and on the same flights.
It’s the third India visa center in London, with 10 others in Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, central London, Hounslow, Leicester, and Manchester operated by VFS Global.
To address customer experience challenges, we’re always looking for practical solutions. Since VFS Global is a responsible service provider that handles non-judgmental, administrative visa applications for governments we work with, we’ve worked with the Indian High Commissioner in London to make the visa application process seamless,” said Aditya Arora, COO.
Because London and Birmingham started accepting applications on Saturdays and weekday afternoons, the visa firm has been able to release more appointments. In March, VFS Global partnered with the High Commission of India in London and its Consulates around the UK to hold consular camps over the weekend.
