Kolkata: The Bureau of Immigration has operationalised four self-service biometric registration kiosks at Kolkata airport to enable foreign nationals arriving in India for the first time on e-visa to complete the mandatory scan of their fingers and face.The introduction of the kiosks has significantly reduced processing time at e-visa immigration counters from 6-7 minutes per flyer to less than a minute. While biometrics of foreigners are captured by a visa-facilitation centre or by an Indian embassy when sticker visas are issued, that is not the case for e-visa. Those with e-visas are required to register their biometrics on arrival.“Though there are separate desks for e-visas, it used to take 6-7 minutes to capture the biometrics of a foreign national at the counter while others had to wait in the queue, irrespective of whether they were first time visitors to India or not. But now, passengers are required to complete the biometrics at the self-service kiosks before proceeding for immigration. When they reach the counter, their passport is checked and stamped in less than a minute,” said an immigration official.Explaining the process, an official said a foreigner with an e-visa arriving in India for the first time needs to go to the kiosk and scan the passport. Thereafter, the traveller is required to capture his or her live photograph, and record fingerprints on the touchscreen kiosk. Once complete, a slip of confirmation will be generated. The passenger has to then proceed with the slip to the immigration counter.Similar kiosks are in operation in Delhi, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.In addition to this, Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Travellers’ Programme (FTI-TTP) has been initiated to speed up the Immigration clearance process for Indian nationals and foreign nationals holding OCI Cards.“Applicants found eligible will need to provide Biometrics (fingerprint and face image) in addition to required information as per data fields provided in the application form. The enrolment to the programme shall be done after necessary verifications and fulfilment of eligibility,” another immigration official explained.
