17 Feb 2016, 06:28 am
The improved visa offer was made as part of the Minister’s five day visit to India, where he visits both Delhi and Bangalore. The visit builds on the success of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UK in November.
As part of his trip the Minister has met important UK visa customers from the education, travel and business sectors to gain insight into how they use the visa service.
Improvements to the service include expanding the same day, super-priority visa services to first time visitors and work visas. The 3 to 5 day priority visa service will also be expanded to visit, study and work routes allowing more customers in India the opportunity get a visa decision faster.
From the end of this month Indian visit visa applicants will be able to benefit from a new quicker and easier online application form.
"As well as taking less time the new online form will make it easier for customers going on holiday or for business to the UK and Europe, to apply for both UK and Schengen visas. Once the form has been filled out, customers will be able to download an auto-completed Schengen application form to print and apply with. Initially the form will launch in English but it will be translated into Hindi, Tamil and Gujarati, making it more straightforward for customers across India to apply for their UK visit visas," read an official statement.
As part of the announcement, the Minister revealed the launch of a new visa application centre (VAC) in Lucknow, Utter Pradesh - the first in India’s most popular state.
During a trip to a visa application centre in Delhi, Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said: “India is one of the UK’s largest visa market and we continue to make improvements to the service here to make it as easy and straightforward as possible for our customers to apply for their visas."
“We are pleased that more and more Indian visitors are choosing to come to the UK on holiday and for business. Last year we saw a 17% increase in the number of visit visas issued. Indian holidaymakers are very welcome in the UK and thanks to our strong cultural and historic ties I think they feel very home at home there. We hope that this year we continue to see an increase in visitors from India and that these improvements prove useful to those applying for their visas," Brokenshire, said said.
- India announces free e-visas to Filipino tourists
- Sweden unveils Nämdöskärgården – A new Marine National Park in the Baltic Sea
- Monsoon Charity Fair in Kolkata highlights efforts of social changemakers
- Jordan showcases Adventure Tourism with 2025 Marathon Des Sables
- 10 Indian nationals among 99 denied entry into Malaysia after security screening at Kuala Lumpur airport
- Visiting US just got $250 more expensive; here's why
- Air India begins phased resumption of international flights after AI171 crash; Heathrow to replace Gatwick on Ahmedabad-London route
- We took a hit post-Pahalgam but tourism is flowing back: J&K CM Omar Abdullah assures safety to visitors
- Air India expands codeshare partnership with Air Mauritius
- Air India announces network-wide sale ahead of the summer holiday season
Malaysia Airlines will expand its South India network by adding more flights on the Kuala Lumpur–Trivandrum route to meet rising demand, the airline said. From September 12, the carrier will operate five weekly services, with daily flights to start from December 1.
IndiGo has expanded its codeshare agreement with KLM, the Netherlands’ national airline, providing its passengers with enhanced access to destinations across Europe and the United Kingdom through KLM’s network, the airline said.
Etihad Airways and Azul Brazilian Airlines have signed a frequent flyer partnership, allowing members of Etihad Guest and Azul Fidelidade programme to earn and redeem loyalty points across both airlines.