Union Home Minister and Minister of Co-operation Amit Shah inaugurated the ‘Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme’ at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, in New Delhi, yesterday.
Shah said that under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) was a “visionary initiative” of the Government of India, thoughtfully designed for the benefit of Indian citizens and OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) cardholders.
The Union home secretary and several other dignitaries were present at the launch at IGI T3.
This initiative would provide better facilities to Indian nationals and OCI passengers coming from other countries, said Shah. He added that the launch of this programme was one of the key agendas set for Viksit Bharat @2047 and reflected the Modi Government’s commitment to enhancing travel convenience and efficiency for all.
The FTI-TTP facility is available free of cost. It is designed for faster, smoother and safer immigration clearance for international travellers. The programme runs on e-gates or automated border gates, which minimises human intervention in the immigration clearance process.
In the first phase of the programme, Indian citizens and OCI cardholders will be covered; and in the second phase, foreign travellers will be covered.
The FTI-TTP programme will be launched at 21 major airports in the country. In the first phase, along with Delhi Airport, it will be launched at seven major airports: Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Ahmedabad.
The objective of this programme is to make international travel easy and secure by developing world-class immigration facilities through an accelerated immigration pathway for international travellers screened through automated gates (e-gates).
The FTI-TTP will be implemented through an online portal. The Bureau of Immigration will be the nodal agency for fast-track immigration of various categories of travellers under this programme.
To enrol in the scheme, an applicant has to register online on the portal with her/his details and required documents. After necessary verification, a White List of ‘Trusted Travellers’ will be generated and fed for implementation through e-gates. Biometrics of the ‘Trusted Traveller’ passing through e-gates will be captured at the FRRO (Foreigner Regional Registration Office) or at the time of passage of the registered traveller through the airport.
The TTP registration will be valid till the validity of the passport or for 5 years, whichever is earlier, and will be renewed thereafter.
Under the process, as soon as the ‘registered passenger’ reaches the e-gates, he/she will scan his/her boarding pass issued by the airlines at the e-gates to get the details of his/her flight. The passport will also be scanned and biometrics of the passenger will be authenticated at the e-gates.
Once the genuine identity of the passenger is established and biometric authentication is done, the e-gate will open automatically and immigration clearance will be deemed to have been granted.