Page 3 - Visa

Chinese Visa scam: Court grants interim bail to three accused persons

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has not moved the bail application at the trial court

For summer holiday, discover 8 countries with visa-on-arrival for Indians

For their summer holidays, Indians can travel to 43 countries that provide visa-on-arrival

US banks to see modest hit from deal to lower swipe fee by Visa, Mastercard

The antitrust settlement announced on Tuesday is one of the largest in U.S. history. If approved by court, it would resolve most claims in a nationwide litigation that began nearly two decades ago

Mastercard, Visa reach $30 billion settlement over credit card fees

The antitrust settlement announced on Tuesday is one of the largest in U.S. history, and upon court approval would resolve claims in litigation that began in 2005

Higher IELTS, new test for Indians: Australia tightens student visa rules

Securing a place to study in Australia is becoming increasingly challenging. Here's what prospective Indian students need to know

Chinese visa scam: Court summons Karti Chidambaram after ED chargesheet

A Delhi court on Tuesday summoned Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and others in a money laundering case linked to an alleged Chinese visa scam. Special Judge M K Nagpal summoned the accused while taking cognisance of a charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The judge directed Karti Chidambaram, his former chartered accountant S Bhaskararaman and six others, including representatives of a few companies, to appear before the court on April 5. The accused also include Padam Dugar, Vikas Makharia, Mansoor Siddiqi, Dugar Housing Ltd, Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd and Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd. The ED has registered a money laundering case against the accused in the alleged scam pertaining to issuance of visa to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 when his father P Chidambaram was the Union home minister. The ED said the actual magnitude or volume of the processed or laundered amount of money in the case was yet to be established and the alleged payment of Rs 50 lakh br

Increased travel connectivity, visa waivers help boost tourism to SE Asia

The prevailing influence of Korean pop culture, often referred to as the 'Hallyu Wave' has significantly captivated Indian audiences, thus boosting travel to the country

21 Indians arrested in Sri Lanka for working on tourist visa: Report

Sri Lankan authorities have arrested 21 Indian nationals for illegally operating an online marketing centre in the island nation, violating the relaxed tourist visa norms, a media report said on Wednesday. The 21 Indian men in the age group of 24 to 25, who were in Sri Lanka on tourist visas, were taken into custody on Tuesday by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported. After a preliminary inquiry, the department raided a rented house in Negombo city, where those arrested were found operating an online marketing centre. The house had been converted into an office space where computers and other devices had been installed, the report said. Under Sri Lanka's law, those who visit the island nation on tourist visas are prohibited from engaging in any paid or unpaid work. The Indian nationals had used the free-of-charge visa condition that Sri Lanka has granted to a set of countries till March 31 as part of an ongoing pilot project to promote ..

RBI tightens norms for credit, debit cards used with business accounts

Last month, the RBI had ordered Visa to stop using an unauthorized route to make business-to-business card payments which used fintech companies as an intermediary

RBI directs credit card issuers to give users choice of other networks

RBI on Wednesday said issuers of credit cards shall not enter into any arrangement or agreement with card networks that restrain customers from availing the services of other networks

Visa, Western Union expand their partnership to more than 40 nations

Past iterations of the partnership focused on serving consumers in North America and Europe, said Chris Newkirk, Visa's head of commercial and money-movement solutions

British Airways official on the run in India over £3 mn visa racket: Report

British police are working with their Indian counterparts to trace a British Airways supervisor believed to be on the run in India after his role in an alleged GBP 3 million visa scam from over five years came to light, according to a UK media report on Tuesday. The Sun' newspaper reports that the unnamed 24-year-old suspect worked at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport and is said to have charged customers GBP 25,000 per trip to abuse a loophole and fly them across the British Airways (BA) network without crucial visa documents. British police are now said to be working with their Indian counterparts to try to trace the man, who reportedly vanished with his partner a BA ground services staffer after he was arrested on January 6 and released on bail. He is believed to have flown out to India where he has reportedly bought several properties. As part of his fiddle, he got clients, most from India, to fly to the UK on a temporary visitor visa where he arranged for them to jet elsewhere,

EU council adopts euro instant payments rules to take on Visa, Mastercard

The Council added that the new rule would factor in countries outside of the euro-zone economic bloc

Visa applications to beat pre-Covid levels in 2024, says VFS Global

In 2023, visa application volumes saw a 16 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth compared to 2022, taking it to 93 per cent of pre-pandemic levels of 2019

'Capital One-Discover deal could hurt Visa, Mastercard dominance'

The all-stock deal would give Capital One access to Discover's network of payments processing and settlement services, potentially allowing it to cut its reliance on Visa and Mastercard

RBI orders Visa to stop unauthorised B2B card payment system: Report

Business-to-business payments via cards include payments by businesses to their vendors and in some cases tax payments by small units

Maldives deports 186 foreigners, including 43 Indians, on visa violations

The Maldives has deported 186 foreigners, including 43 Indians, after accusing them of committing crimes like visa violations and drug offences, according to a media report. The highest number of people deported was from Bangladesh. At least 83 Bangladeshis were deported followed by 43 Indians, 25 Sri Lankans and 8 Nepalis. The date of their deportation is not yet known, Male-based news outlet Adhadhu reported. The deportations come as efforts are underway in the Maldives to shut down businesses operated illegally. Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan said at a press briefing on Tuesday that the ministry was working together with the Economic Ministry to take action against illegal businesses operating under various names. These include both registered and unregistered businesses, the minister noted. Such businesses include those operated by a foreigner instead of the registered owner, Home Minister Ihusan said. The Home Ministry was working on shutting down such businesses and .

BLS International Services Q3 results: Profit rises by 90% to Rs 87 cr

Visa service provider BLS International Services on Monday reported a 90 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 87.18 crore for the quarter ending December 2023, primarily driven by an improved business mix. The New Delhi-headquartered company had posted a profit of Rs 45.85 crore in the year-ago period. The company's consolidated revenue stood at Rs 437.9 crore for the December quarter in FY24 and operating EBITDA witnessed a growth of 33.6 per cent to Rs 88.6 crore, according to a regulatory filing. "The company's operating EBITDA margins continue to be in excess of 20 per cent; primarily driven by an improved business mix, specifically in the visa and consular services segment," BLS said. BLS shares ended at Rs 363.70 apiece on the BSE, down by 5.51 per cent over Friday close. The company continued to maintain healthy balance sheet with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 754 crore as of December 31, 2023. For the nine months ended December of 2023, operational revenue of

Iran announces visa-waiver for Indian tourists for maximum of 15-day stay

Iran on Tuesday announced a visa-waiver programme for Indians entering the country by air for tourism for a maximum stay of 15 days. The visa-free entry has been rolled out for Indian citizens from February 4 subject to four conditions, the Iranian embassy said. In December, Iran approved a new visa-free programme for India and 32 other countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. The Iranian readout said individuals holding ordinary passports will be allowed to enter the country without a visa once every six months, with a maximum stay of 15 days. "It is important to note that the 15-day period cannot be extended," it said. "The visa abolition only applies to individuals entering the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran for tourism purposes," it said. It said Indians wanting to stay for a longer period or make multiple entries within a six-month period or requiring other types of visas must obtain necessary visas fro

'UK wants India to treat it's citizens fairly after cricketer visa episode'

The UK government on Wednesday stated that India should treat British citizens "fairly" when they apply for visas after off-spinner Shoaib Bashir's arrival for the five-match Test series was delayed due to lingering issues relating to his travel documents. The 20-year-old Bashir, who plays for Somerset in the English county, was with the England squad in Abu Dhabi but couldn't proceed to India as he is yet to be granted visa. His family is of Pakistani heritage. "The specifics of this case are a matter for Shoaib Bashir and the Indian Government. But we absolutely expect India to treat British citizens fairly at all times in its visa process," a spokesperson of the British government was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "We have previously raised the issues British citizens with Pakistani heritage experience applying for visas with the Indian High Commission in London." England captain Ben Stokes had earlier in the day said that he's "devastated" that the visa issues had forced ..