Surge in demand of 'Visa at Your Doorstep' among UK travellers to India

There has been a significant surge in demand for the "Visa at Your Doorstep service amid a growing number of UK visitors choosing India as a travel destination, visa facilitation service VFS Global said on Tuesday.

According to the latest Ministry of Tourism statistics, Britain featured among the top three source countries for foreign tourist arrivals making up a 9.82 per cent share between January and June this year. It comes as overall foreign tourist arrivals to India increased by around 64 per cent compared to previous years.

The Visa at Your Doorstep (VAYD) service has recently experienced a significant surge in demand, said Anirudh Singh, COO of Europe and CIS region at VFS Global the technology services provider for governments and diplomatic missions, including the Indian mission in the UK.

 

"The demand for convenient and personalised services is rising, and our VAYD service is perfectly positioned to meet this growing need. Equipped with mobile kits for biometric capture, our staff visit the preferred location of applicants, whether at their workplace, their hotel or their home. This seamless and convenient approach significantly enhances the travel experience, allowing travellers to focus on their plans rather than administrative paperwork, he said.

Recently, when UK-based television production company South Shore Productions were planning their visit to India for a documentary on England cricket legend Freddie Flintoff, they opted for the VAYD service.

"The Visa at Your Doorstep service was used for a group of 14 of our staff ahead of a trip to India. VFS Global staff came to our office to process these rather than our team having to go to the visa office in person, which was helpful. The passports were returned with the visas in good time, said a company spokesperson.

The service is designed to allow applicants to complete the Indian visa application process where they are, instead of having to visit a VFS Global visa centre located in different UK cities including London. It is intended as a time-saving solution for businesses and production houses that must apply for visas for several people simultaneously.

VFS Global said it also operates a form-filling optional service to ensure that forms are not rejected because key details have been missed to make the process of travel from the UK to India as smooth as possible.