Indian govt to launch faster immigration clearance scheme for trusted travellers

The program will be started on a pilot basis at Delhi and Mumbai airports this year. Later it will be expanded to 15 more international airports by 2027 and all airports by 2032, reported HT citing an anonymous official.

For the implementation of the programme at Delhi airport, three electronic gates, two for arrival and one for departure, have already been established at the airport. However, authorities are yet to begin trials of the programme.

The inititative will help Indian passport holders to use e-gates and help them avoid que for immigration clearance.

“The idea is to make the immigration clearance process simpler and quicker with the help of technology. The United States’ department of homeland security has a similar Global Entry Program, which allows for expedited security and immigration clearance of pre-approved, low-risk travellers,” said a third officer, who works in the home ministry.

The modalities of the verification system are yet to be worked out in India’s case. Authorities also need to figure out how passports will be stamped as they are done when someone enters or exits India via immigration checkpoints. The scheme will be open only for Indian passport holders and there is no consideration of extending the scheme to those with other passports.

For the speedy implementation of the programme, the ministry of home affairs (MHA), has already prepared a roadmap for the “trusted traveler programme’, reported HT citing an officer.

No matter how visionary the scheme sounds, it would be crucial to see how the authorities will define ‘pre-verified travellers’, Amit Singh, an aviation expert, told HT.

“E-Gates are only to reduce the workload or automate the process but someone at the backend must verify and approve the passenger’s identity based on the immigration database. If the person is of interest, then the e-gate will reject the entry and the person will have to proceed to the manual counter,” he added. The successfull implementation of the scheme will help in reducing long queues at check points.