India to resume e-visa for UK travellers

Mass travel cancellations due to political squabble
Good news for UK nationals planning a trip to India: they can once again apply for their electronic visa for India online, after not being able to do so for almost a year. In a tit-for-tat move following strict entry requirements for Indians headed to the UK post-COVID, the Indian government had barred UK nationals from applying for e-visas. The UK was among only a handful of countries whose citizens were not allowed to apply for e-visas for India even after the pandemic, a list which also included Canada and China.

While in theory UK nationals could still apply for physical visas at the High Commission to travel to India, the queues for paper visas were so long that many travellers were forced to delay or even cancel their planned trips.

E-visa reinstated for UK nationals
After lengthy negotiations, and the UK dropping many of its restrictions for incoming Indian visitors, India has finally agreed to allow UK travellers to apply for e-visas again. It’s no surprise that the UK government was so eager to see the e-visa system reopened for UK nationals. The country makes up a large portion of annual visitors to India, which is in part due to the ease of accessibility of the e-visa system.

Pleun Leijten, Head of Customer Relations at e-Visa.co.uk, one of the UK’s leading travel visa agencies, stated the news was received with much joy and relief among UK travellers:

“We’ve been receiving dozens of calls and e-mails daily from frustrated travellers wondering when it would be possible again to acquire a visa for India online. Until now, we’ve had to tell them we didn’t know either. Reinstating the e-visa removes a large hurdle for Brits wanting to travel to India. ”

Surge in visa applications for India
Following the news, the number of electronic visa applications for India surged, as travellers from the UK are keen to finally visit friends and family in India again. e-Visa.co.uk noted an almost quadrupling of online visa applications for India now that UK nationals are allowed to apply again. Head of Customer Relations Pleun Leijten sees her employees face a heavy increase in workload:

“India has very strict requirements for e-visa applications compared to many other countries. For instance, you need to provide both a scan of your passport as well as a photograph of yourself. Travellers often come to us to help them with their applications. To ensure speedy approval, we manually check all provided documents to make sure they meet the standards set by Indian immigration, for a trouble-free process.”

The news was also welcomed by India’s tourism sector, which despite the reopening of the country’s borders saw its profits lag behind pre-pandemic numbers. This was in large part due to the absence of UK tourists. With the UK being granted access to the e-visa system again, prospects for India’s tourism sector heading into 2023 look bright.

e-Visa.co.uk
e-Visa.co.uk is a visa bureau that specializes in processing applications for electronic travel permits. Many travellers find visa applications complicated and time-consuming procedures. Through modern technical solutions and personalized support, e-Visa.co.uk makes applying for visas easier than it’s ever been. e-Visa’s customer-focused method of operating gives it a unique insight into the travel industry.