NEW DELHI: Seeking to harness cutting-edge technology to offer foreign visitors a smoother visa and immigration experience, while also strengthening national security, the Union cabinet Wednesday approved continuation of the immigration, visa, foreigners registration and tracking (IVF-RT) scheme for a further five years until March 2031, with a Rs 1,800 crore outlay.Sources in the govt told TOI that the Bureau of Immigration, with backing of the home ministry, envisages a seamless IVFRT network – which will inter-link multiple databases relating to visa issuance, immigration records, look out circulars, travel history, reporting/registration with the foreigner regional registration officers (FRROs) or foreigner registration officers (FROs), and requests made for visa extension or inner line permits etc during stay in India – to enable the immigration officer to make an informed decision on granting clearance upon entry/exit.Not only this, by making these databases talk to one another, the local FRRO/FRO will know the exact details of foreigners who have legally entered the country and help separate them from ones whose entry/immigration is undocumented, making them suspect illegal immigrants, said an officer.The database linking will initially be rolled out at select major airports and eventually cover all integrated check posts and FRRO/FRO offices.“The idea is to make the immigration experience smoother and faster for legitimate foreign visitors. At the same time, national security needs will be attended to as suspect foreign visitors can be tracked with help of technology and enforcement age-ncies can intervene where needed. This decision will no longer be left to human judgement alone,” said an officer.“The continuation of IVFRT project is not just a technical upgrade, but a strategic transformation aligned with the govt’s vision to promote international mobility through a world-class immigration and visa issuance system,” the govt stated.
