Tiruchi airport gets e-tourist visa system
The Tiruchi International Airport on Saturday became one
of the gateways for foreign tourists entering the country with
e-tourist visas, an online visa issue system introduced by the Union
government.
Tiruchi is now one of the 16 designated
airports in the country, which have been approved as entry points for
foreigners arriving in the country with e-tourist visas. While nine
airports, including Chennai, were already approved, Tiruchi and six
other airports - Amritsar, Gaya, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, and
Varanasi - have been added to the system now. Tourists from 113
countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Georgia,
Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand,
Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Spain,
Portugal, Seychelles, The Netherlands, Sweden and United Kingdom, could
use the e-tourist visa facility.
Under the system, foreign tourists can apply for visas through the websitewww.indianvisaonline.
gov.inminimum
four days in advance of their arrival. They can pay the fee online and
would be required to arrive at the designated airports with a print out
of the e-TV (tourist visa) generated online. The visas would have a
validity of 30 days from the date of arrival. Biometric details of the
applicant will be mandatorily captured on arrival in India. The facility
can be availed for a maximum of two visits to the country in a calendar
year.
The Airports Authority of India, the Bureau of
Immigration and the National Informatics Centre have created the
necessary infrastructure at the Tiruchi airport for the introduction of
the system. Dedicated counters and equipment, including passport
readers, bio-metric capture machines, web cameras and computers have
been installed for the purpose. A team of immigration personnel has been
trained in Chennai for the purpose
“The system
became operational at the airport at 12 a.m. on Saturday. However, we
are awaiting the first passenger to arrive with an e-tourist visa,” an
Immigration official told
The Hindu
.
The introduction of the system at the airport is
expected to give a big push to tourism in the central parts of the
State. “Already, tourists from Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore arrive
in the country through Tiruchi to visit various tourist and pilgrimage
destinations in the Central districts. We expect more number of people
to come in, especially from these countries, as they can plan their
travel at a short notice and get visas quickly without any hassle,” said
M.S.Paramasivam, chairman, Travel Agents Association of India, South
Tamil Nadu Chapter.
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