Indians may get longer, cheaper British visa

LONDON: As Indians increasingly travel abroad for business and pleasure, an influential Commonwealth body asked Britain on Tuesday to offer Indian tourists longer and cheaper visa facilities that are currently offered to encourage visits from China by the David Cameron government. Under a two-year pilot underway in China, a UK visa valid for two years is offered for £87; for the same fee, Indians get the visa for a maximum of six months. A two-year visa for Indians costs £330.

Presenting a report in the House of Commons, the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) said Britain (with 400,000 Indian visitors) has been losing its market share of India’s outbound travellers, particularly to France ,(with 500,000 Indian visitors) overtaking it in 2015.

After India made it “significantly easier” for Britons to obtain a visa through its e-visa system, the RCS said extending the China pilot to India would provide “an ideal opportunity to reply in kind by extending a more favourable two-year visitor visa to Indian visitors”. Titled A Passage From India, the report supported by several airlines, tour operators and CII said: “The lead up to next year presents a unique opportunity to extend the proposed visa reform as 2017 has been declared the UK-India Year of Culture”.

“Our recommendation is for Indian nationals to join a pilot scheme granting visitors a twoyear multiple visit visa into the UK for £87. The same pilot was offered to Chinese nationals in January 2016 and described as bringing significant benefits to the UK economy”.

“At present Indian nationals pay £87 for a 6-month visa, £330 for a two-year visa, and £752 for ten years. The UK’s policy to seek stronger ties with China is sensible, but it is nonetheless prudent to seek out other fast-developing nations to provide balance, such as India, where the UK already has strong cultural links”, the report said. Tim Hewish, the report’s author, told Hindustan Times that the fall in pound’s value post the Brexit vote was likely to increase tourists from India. He said: “There might well be a new Home Secretary who would need to make a decision on extending the visitor visa to Indian nationals. Discussions with the Home Office, the Treasury, and the Tourism Minister are paramount next steps to ensure support in time for the star of 2017.”