The government has approved the extension of the Immigration Visa Foreigners Registration Tracking (IVFRT) plan for another five years, till March 31, 2026, at a cost of Rs. 1,364.88 crore.
The IVFRT plan aims to connect and optimize functions related to immigration, visa issuing, foreigner registration, and tracking of their movements in the country. Furthermore, it stated that the continuation of the plan demonstrates the government’s commitment to the main goal of IVFRT, which is to modernize and improve immigration and visa services.
Issuing an official statement, it said, “The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the continuation of the Immigration Visa Foreigners Registration Tracking (IVFRT) scheme beyond March 31, 2021, for a period of five years from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2026, with a financial outlay of ₹1,364.88 crores.”
Through this plan, the Ministry of Home Affairs, led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, strives to establish a secure and integrated service delivery structure that enables lawful travellers while boosting national security. The continuation of the program demonstrates the government’s dedication to the main goal of IVFRT, which is to modernize and improve immigration and visa services, according to the statement.
The undertaking has a global context and strives to interconnect and optimize functions related to immigration, visa issuance, registration of foreigners, and tracking of their movements in India by capturing 192 Indian missions around the world, 108 Immigration Check Posts in India, 12 Foreigners Regional Registration Officers and offices, and over 700 Foreigners Registration Officers, Superintendents of Police/Deputy Commissioners of Police across the country.
Following the implementation of IVFRT, the number of visas and Overseas Citizen of India cards granted grew from 44.43 lakh in 2014 to 64.59 lakh in 2019, representing a 7.7 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The mean visa processing time (during the pre-IVFRT period) has been lowered to a maximum of 72 hours in e-visas, with 95% of e-visas issued within 24 hours.
According to the official statement, international traffic to and from India increased from 3.71 million to 7.5 million in a decade at a CAGR of 7.2%.
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