e-Tourist Visa scheme:

High hopes and hiccups

by Anuradha Kodagoda

On arrival visas was a promise extend by the India Premier Narendra Modi during his historic visit to Sri Lanka in March this year. His promise elicited a lot of excitement, for obtaining visa to India had become somewhat a tedious task for the scores of thousands who visit the giant neighbour for reasons ranging from shopping to medical care and everything in between.

Converting the promise to a cyber reality, the Indian High Commission in Colombo, earlier this week announced that its e-Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme has now been extended to Sri Lankan nationals as well, effective April 14.

The new scheme, the High Commission announced would be in addition to the existing visa services, but rule that it would not be applicable to Sri Lankan nationals holding Diplomatic / Official passports and Sri Lankan nationals of Pakistani origin.

The e-visa facility, one would assume is a convenience all travellers would snap up with glee. But this has not been the case. The long queues still remain the same at the Indian Visa Centre in Thummulla, with visa applicants reluctant to apply for e-Tourist Visas due to the higher charges. Also many applicants say the e-process is more time consuming compared to the normal visa application.

A statement issued by the High Commission of India on the e-Tourist Visa facility explained that the e- system had been implemented solely with the purpose of facilitating the Sri Lankan visa applicants who travel to India for a shorter period of time. "It could be visiting friends or relatives, hospitalisation or health purposes or any other short term personnel matters," it stated, pointing out that applicants who have residence or occupation in India cannot utilize the scheme.

It also specifies the visa facility was valid only for single-entry and 30 days from the date of arrival in India and the applicant must hold a passport with at least six months validity from date of arrival in India. "For the applicants, it is crucial to understand that the visa will not be issued on arrival without Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) which will be sent through email once the applicant applies for visa online.

The process will take a minimum of four working days. With this eTV facility the applicant only has to carry his/her passport, return/onward journey ticket and a printed copy of ETA," it explained.

A spokesperson for the Indian High Commission meanwhile said it was too early to say how many applicants had availed the e-visa facility, but claimed they had not received any complains about the scheme so far. "We are extending our fullest support to popularise the facility among Sri Lankans and we hope Sri Lankans will benefit from the system," he said. The eTV scheme is only valid for nine designated airports while exit can be through any authorised Immigration Check Post (ICP) in India.

The valid designated airports are; Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.

Old vs new

The Sunday Observer spoke to a cross section of applicants at the Indian Visa Centre at Thummulla to submit their visa forms under the normal system. Although they knew about the newly implemented eTV scheme, many of them were reluctant to apply online.