APPLYING for a visa to visit India has been made easier for those desirous of visiting the land of the Taj Mahal. This announcement was made by India’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis and Caricom, Dr. K J Srinivasa.

Dr. Srinivasa said the High Commission of India will be switching over to online visa application filing for all applicants and all visa types with effect from November 15, 2019. Manually-filled visa application forms will no longer be accepted by the mission in Guyana.

Explaining the process, the high commissioner said visitors will need to submit biometric data, comprising fingerprints and a facial image, along with a visa application. Apart from the newly-upgraded biometrics-based visa system, India has improved its visitor processes with an e-Visa (electronic visa) facility which is issued within 24-72 hours of the application, with the visa being received to the applicant’s email ID.

Dr. Srinivasa said the new system will facilitate more secured processing of visa applications and avoid the wait on arrival at immigration posts in India. There will be no long wait since the biometrics are already done in the Indian High Commission at the time of issue of the new visa.

“The advantages of biometric systems are that it provides improved security, helps in prevention of fraud cases, easy authentication, data veracity, and privacy,” said the Indian high commissioner.

Currently, travellers from more than 160 countries can apply for a Tourist e-Visa, Business e-Visa or Medical e-Visa, depending on the purpose of their visit to India.

Travelers who use the e-Visa programme apply, pay a fee online and receive their electronic visa online before travelling to India. Those wishing to apply for an e-visa can apply at https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html. Further queries can be made through the High Commission’s website at www.hcigeorgetown.org or cons.georgetown@mea.gov.in.