MODI’S VISIT TO UK TO BOOST INDIAN ARRIVALS
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The recent visit of Indian Prime Minister to the United Kingdom is set to pace the growth of Indian arrivals to the UK. “We recently welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it was a great success. It has further strengthened the bilateral relation between India and the United Kingdom that already exist between two countries. The chances are very bright for future relations. The Prime Minister visit also showcased some of the attractions in London and the UK,” Sir James Bevan,” British High Commissioner for India, said while formally opening the UK and Ireland’s new Visa Application Centre in New Delhi. The High Commissioner further stated that more Indian visitors will be inspired to choose the UK for their next holiday post Modi’s visit. “Not only do Indian visitors benefit our economy (last year they spent £444m in the UK) they take back to India good memories of the UK, which benefits the wider relationship between our two countries,” he added.
Giving further details, Bevan said that the UK issue over 400,000 visas every year in India. “We have more visa application centres in India than any other countries. The aim of the visa services to offer excellent visa services to every Indian who wants to go the UK. in India as it is not difficult to get visa. More than 90 per cent of the visa applications are successful. The average time to get your visa process generally takes 6 working days and if someone wants to get premium facilities, then it is even quicker. We issued more than 350,000 visitor visas for the year ending June 2015, reflecting a growth over 50 per cent. We issued 60,000 working visa last year which is 10 per cent more. Last year, we issued 12,000 student visas. We issues more Indian student visa than any other countries except China and USA,” he added.
The new Centre brings a number of benefits to customers. The new VAC is situated in the same premises as the Schengen VAC, allowing customers planning a European holiday or business trip the convenience of applying for both visas at the same time. Customers can simply apply for their UK visa, purchase the passport passback service in order to keep their passport while their UK application is processed, and then go across the hall to the Schengen VAC to apply for their Schengen visa.
Speaking on the occasion, Gerry Kelly, Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of Ireland said that the new Centre will provide an improved experience for Indian citizens travelling to Ireland. “We have seen a large increase in the number of Indians travelling to Ireland in recent years and I’m sure this new facility will help the Embassy in providing a high quality service to our visa applicants. The introduction of the British Irish Visa Scheme has made it more convenient and better value for Indian visitors to travel to both Ireland and Britain as they now requires only one visa in order to visit both countries.”