UK urges Indian travellers to apply early for visas

The United Kingdom has flagged off a new campaign on 12 January asking Indian nationals to apply early, i.e. in January and February, as it is the non-peak period. The British High Commission, in a statement, said that applicants of UK visas can get to know the status of their visas much faster during this period and also make most of the less crowded visa application centres now, allowing them to avail more appointment slots. Henceforth, Indian nationals wanting to travel to the UK can post-date their visas by up to three months by requesting the High Commission, so that their visas are applicable from their planned travel date. The Press Trust of India quotes Sir Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India, as saying that they were happy that increasing number of Indians are evincing their wish to travel to Britain for either leisure or business. He stated that according to the latest visa statistics, the number of visitor visas granted to Indians increased by six percent in the year ending September 2016 and that more visit visas were issued to Indians than ever before last year. Asquith said that this would be the most opportune time to visit their country as 2017 is being celebrated as the Year of Culture, which will see India and UK holding a bouquet of events to celebrate the cultural history of both the countries. He said that their intent of asking people to apply for visas early was to let Indian tourists coming to the UK visit its heritage sites, enjoy and experience their countryside and cities. This was announced officially at the Destination Britain India- a three-day tourism trade fair - being held in Pune currently. It is being held by the national tourism agency of UK, VisitBritain. Sumathi Ramanathan, VisitBritain’s, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa Director, said that they wanted Britain to be a must-visit destination for tourists from India. The British High Commission is reportedly continuing to make improvements to its visa services in India. In 2016, the UK introduced a new online visit visa application form in the South Asian nation. Said to be quicker and more intuitive, the new form has been translated into four Indian languages to make it convenient for tourists from this country to apply. Earlier, in 2016, Theresa May, British Prime Minister, had said that India would become the first visa country to enjoy the Registered Traveller Service benefits to the UK. This premium service would allow approved visitors, who have already gone through advanced security checks, hastened entry at the border of UK, it was reported. If you are planning to make a trip the UK, contact Y-Axis, India’s leading immigration consultancy firm, to apply for a tourist visa conveniently from one of its several offices located all over India.