India rolls out e-visas once again for travellers from UK

The Indian government has reinstated the electronic visa (e-visa) facility for UK travellers, a popular speedy option that had been discontinued for the UK over the COVID pandemic period.

The Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, said the service will be available “forthwith” and the High Commission of India in London said the system upgrade process is underway and the website will soon be ready to receive applications for e-visas.

It had emerged in the UK Parliament that e-visas were among the issues discussed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Rishi Sunak, during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Indonesia last month.

The long-awaited move follows several measures undertaken to boost Indian visa processing facilities, including a new Indian visa centre in central London and Visa at Your Doorstep (VAYD) service, to address the high post-pandemic travel demand from the UK to India. The new centre in London is the third India visa centre in London, with VFS Global operating a network of 10 IVACs across the UK – in Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, central London, Hounslow, Leicester, and Manchester. 

VFS Global said it has been able to release more appointments as London and Birmingham started receiving applications on Saturdays and weekday afternoons. Since March this year, VFS Global has also partnered with the High Commission of India in London and its Consulates around the UK to set up weekend consular camps across the UK.

E-visas allow travellers to apply for short-term multiple entry visas to India with relative ease through an online application. Further details on the fees and application process will be updated on the High Commission of India's website.

Info: HCI London