Tracking details of foreigners visiting India on valid travel documents, will become easier from Friday with the government inaugurating the central processing office of the Immigration, Visa and Foreigners Registration & Tracking (IVFRT) system which has, so far, connected as many as 60 Indian Missions and many immigration offices.
Besides helping foreigners in getting visa quickly and sharing information across the concerned Indian agencies about foreign travelers, the IVFRT will also help in “software aided passenger profiling for identifying risky travelers at Missions, Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) and FRROs, and generation of automated alerts about over-stay of foreigners beyond their Visa period”.
The system envisages facilitation services to the travelers including on-line application forms, 24X7 on-line channel, phone support for grievance redressal and e-mail/SMS support for dissemination of information, application status and feedback.
Union home minister P Chidambaram will inaugurate the central office of the IVFRT here at Delhi Information Technology Park, Shashtri Park on Friday.
The new system has already been implemented and operationalised at 60 Indian Missions in UK, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, Finland and Estonia, Oman, South Sudan, Sudan, Australia, Switzerland, Belgium & Luxemburg, Canada, Italy, Malaysia France, Nigeria, UAE, Sweden, Oman, Spain, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Maldives, USA, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and Bahrain.
“Remaining Missions are to be covered during the financial year 2012-13 and 2013-14″, said home ministry spokesperson Ira Joshi.
She said: “The project seeks to achieve service delivery within specified time limits for each category of travelers. Modernization and up-gradation of immigration services is one of the Mission Mode project which is being undertaken by the ministry of home affairs under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP).”
This project will result in authentication of traveler’s identity at the Missions, ICPs and Foreigners Registration Offices (FROs) through use of “intelligent document scanners and biometrics”.
Online registration of foreigners at the time of grant of visa and automated updation of the particulars of the foreigners at entry and exit points; availability of a centralized system for sharing of information across the concerned agencies about foreign travelers and improved tracking of foreigners by integrating and sharing information captured during visa issuance at missions, during immigration check at ICPs, and during registration at FRRO/ FROs are some of the main features of the system.
Convergence and integration with other initiatives such as e-passports, e-migration and crime and criminal tracking network for expeditious and informed decision-making is also part of the IVFRT.
