Now, a UK visa is just five steps away

New Delhi, Sept.21 (ANI): In order to reassure first time visitors to the UK that the visa process is straightforward, UKVI has launched a new video to explain each step of the process – from filling out the form online, giving fingerprints at the Visa Application Centre to receiving the visa.

The number of Indian visitors coming to the UK is at a high: the latest visa statistics show a 15% increase of visit visas issued year on year. In the year ending June 2015 over 355,000 visit visas were issued to Indian nationals and 91 percent of all Indian nationals who applied for a UK visa received one.

British High Commissioner to India Sir James Bevan KCMG said: “Our visa system is designed to make it as straightforward as possible for customers to apply for their visas. This video is another example of the improvements we are making to the visa service to make it quicker and easier for Indian visitors to apply for a UK visa.”

“Indian visitors will receive a warm welcome in the UK and we want to see the numbers continue to grow. Not only do Indian visitors benefit our economy (last year they spent £444m in the UK) they take back to India good memories of the UK, which benefits the wider relationship between our two countries.”

The UK has 15 Visa Application Centres in India – more than in any other country- and continues to make improvements to make the service more user-friendly.

Recent developments include the Passport Passback scheme which allows customers to keep hold of their passports while their visa application is being processed. Last year we also simplified the transit visa rules, so that travellers can transit the UK airside without a visa provided they hold a valid USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand visa, regardless of where they are travelling to.

India was the first country where the same day Super Priority Visa was introduced and the service continues to grow in popularity. Since the service launched, in 2013, over 1,300 Super Priority Visas have been issued, and numbers show that in the first six months of this year the numbers issued were 68 percent up from the same period the year before. (ANI)

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