Vaz delighted at expansion of Indian visa services

Indian-origin British lawmaker Keith Vaz has expressed his delight at India's decision to expand visa services in the UK.
The Indian high commission announced outsourcing many of the services to VFS from March 1 with six new visa application centres around the country, taking the total up to 14.
"This is a culmination of over a decade of campaigning and I am delighted that services required by tens of thousands of people of Indian-origin will now be provided, including visa services, OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) and Indian passport services," said Vaz, MP for Leicester East - a heavily Indian-origin constituency.

"At a time when the British government is centralising our global visa services, to the detriment of many thousands of applicants in Mumbai, Dhaka and South America, the Indian government is leading the way in providing an efficient, targeted and localised visa service," he said.
The chair of the influential Home Affairs Committee in the UK Parliament said centres in cities like Birmingham, Manchester, London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Leicester will benefit thousands and the "High Commission of India can be commended for taking this important step".
However, some UK-based tour operators have expressed some concern over the new rules around biometric data collection, including mandatory fingerprint data and facial imagery.

"All visa applicants will need to first apply online and, thereafter, be physically present (mandatorily) at India Visa and Consular Services centres, by appointment, for submission of visa application and biometric data enrolment," the Indian High Commission said in a statement.

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) warns that the move could prove off-putting to some British tourists.
"We are writing to the Indian High Commission expressing our concern about the short notice given concerning this change to visa requirements, requesting that they either reconsider or delay its introduction," said Nikki White, ABTA head of destinations and sustainability.
"We are also expressing our concerns about the requirement for individual family members to book separate appointments which could cause considerable unnecessary inconvenience and have the unintended consequence of discouraging travel to India," she added.

The Association of Tour Operators (AITO) also described it as "an unfortunate move".