Residents living in Bengaluru with plans to visit the UK have a reason to cheer now. The Super Priority Visa (SPV) service, which provides visas within 24-hours to travellers looking to travel urgently, will now be available in Bengaluru. The service was first introduced in India in 2013.
The British High Commission plans to employ dedicated staff and connect with express courier services to ensure that the 24-hour delivery system is successfully implemented. It aims to use digitized technology to hasten the process.
British Immigration Minister, Caroline Nokes, said, “I am very pleased that the Super Priority Visa service is being extended to even more Indian cities, giving many more UK visa customers the opportunity to receive a visa decision in 24 hours or less if needed.”
This was discussed during Prime Minister’s Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK, where he met his British counterpart Theresa May. The duo discussed a range of issues, including visas, terrorism and immigration.
India accounts for two-thirds of the total global UK visas processed annually. Maximum number of working visa applications are received from Bengaluru.
As of now, this specialised visa is available in Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai.
The British High Commission also said that this service is part of the UK-India Technology partnership, which aims to establish ‘tech-clusters’ in these cities. As per the initiative, businesses and universities are identified to provide market access to both countries for trade and business.
The extension of this service is part of a wider package of measures that looks to bring about a change in Britain’s visa service, including introducing greater digital technology in the process and additional services for customers.