[itwasntme]

India's Fast Track Immigration programme.

Great news and hope it is quickly rolled out to all international airports. I detest waiting in the Immigration queue after a long international flight!

https://www.cntraveller.in/story/imm...delhi-airport/

https://www.biometricupdate.com/2024...gration-checks

https://youtu.be/ujyc1lgzUrI?feature=shared

[itwasntme]

Has anyone enrolled their biometrics for this yet at BLR? Might be flying next week out of T2; will update anyway.

[itwasntme]

Successfully registered at KIAL T2 yesterday.

Staff were a bit rusty but were very excited to have a guinea pig to try out the tech. Needed a digital photo from the dedicated machine and fingerprint enrolment. 10 minutes and that too because there was a tech glitch.

Enrolment is for period of 5 years and I received the email immediately. Was given to understand that KIAL rollout is imminent.

[GoBabyGo]

Hi, sharing you the details of Fast Track Immigration - Trusted Travellers' Programme, which will enable Indian Nationals travelling aborad for bio-metrics based fast immigration. The details are given below (copy & paste from the website https://ftittp.mha.gov.in/fti/

Fast Track Immigration - Trusted Travellers' Programme (FTI-TTP) has been initiated to speed up the Immigration clearance process for eligible persons from the following categories:

1. Indian Nationals
2. Foreign Nationals holding OCI Card

Applicant found eligible, will need to provide Biometrics (fingerprint and face image) in addition to required information as per data fields provided in the application form. The enrolment to the programme shall be done after necessary verifications and fulfilment of eligibility. However, those travellers who may be required by Law Enforcement Agencies and Courts to join investigations can be suspended from this programme even after enrolment.

Applicant can sign up after successful authentication of their identity through mobile OTP and email verification.

Applicant may ensure that the Passport is valid for at least 6 months at the time of applying for FTI-TTP. Membership of programme will be for 5 years or till validity of the Passport, whichever is less.

The applicants enrolling for FTI-TTP are required to upload the following documents as applicable:

• Passport Size Photograph (Of the same specifications as is used for Indian Passport)
• The applicant's face including ears should occupy 3/4th of the space in the photograph
• The photograph should not be more than six months old
• The Background of the photograph should be plain white
• Scanned copy of Passport having minimum 6 months validity – front page containing photo & personal particulars and last page containing family details
• Scanned Copy of OCI card - both first page (Biographic details) and last page (Family and address details) separately

Application may be rejected if:

• Incorrect or false information is furnished.
• Material facts in the application form are concealed.
• Uploaded documents or photograph are not clear/as per specifications.
• Current Residential Address is not provided.

Applicant would receive an acknowledgement upon successful submission of application on registered mobile number and email address.

Information provided by applicant may be verified through official channels.
Approved applications would receive a message to schedule an appointment for enrolling their biometrics.

Applicants may enrol their biometrics at any of the designated International Airport in India (check list here) or nearest FRRO office (check list here) as per prior appointment schedule which will be provided on registered email.

Applicant whose Biometrics cannot be captured, will not be registered for FTI-TTP.

Registration process for FTI-TTP may take up to one month.

If the passport on which you have been enrolled in FTI-TTP is expired/lost/stolen/damaged, you will have to apply afresh and complete the necessary formalities again and complete biometric enrolment.
Instructions for Filling Registration Form

Applicant to ensure the availability of Acrobat Reader. Download from here:
Applicant shall only provide a valid personal email-id and mobile number for the FTI-TTP registration. Maximum 6 registrations on the same mobile number and email id is allowed.

Applicants having ECR (Emigration Check Required) passport are not eligible for FTI-TTP program.

Applicants who are less than 12 years and above 70 years of age are not eligible to apply for FTI-TTP.

For applicants between 12 to 18 years of age, the email-id and mobile number of parents/guardians may be used for the purpose of FTI-TTP registration and will be registered only with parents/guardians.

Keep the following items ready while filling the application form:

• Scanned copy of Passport size photograph in JPEG format (size ranging from 10 KB to 1 MB).
• Scanned copy of Passport (containing photo & personal particulars) and last page containing family details (size not exceeding 1 MB).
• Scanned Copy of Other documents like OCI card, Address Proof etc. in PDF format (size ranging from 10 KB to 1 MB).

For any FTI-TTP registration queries, please contact the Support Helpdesk on email ID india.ftittp-boi@mha.gov.in.

The designated international airports (31) namely :

1. Delhi
2. Mumbai
3. Chennai
4. Kolkata
5. Thiruvananthapuram
6. Bengaluru
7. Hyderabad
8. Cochin
9. Goa (Dabolim)
10. Ahmedabad
11. Amritsar
12. Gaya
13. Jaipur
14. Lucknow
15. Trichy
16. Varanasi
17. Calicut
18. Mangalore
19. Pune
20. Nagpur
21. Coimbatore
22. Bagdogra
23. Guwahati
24. Chandigarh
25. Visakhapatnam
26. Madurai
27. Bhubaneswar
28. Port Blair
29. Kannur
30. Indore
31. Goa (Mopa)

The following list of FRRO Offices:

1. FRRO Delhi
2. FRRO Mumbai
3. FRRO Chennai
4. FRRO Bengaluru
5. FRRO Ahmedabad
6. FRRO Amritsar
7. FRRO Hyderabad
8. FRRO Kolkata
9. FRRO Lucknow
10. FRRO Trivandrum
11. FRRO Kozhikode(Calicut)
12. FRRO Cochin

[NomadSK]

Thanks for sharing this lovely piece of information. Already applied, I hope the next time immigration becomes a breeze. Exiting/Entering India at Delhi airport have always been Achilles heel.

I hope they approve it .

[NomadSK]

So got the confirmation mail that the application is processed in the system and now biometrics needs to be done at Delhi or any international airport in India, which I will be doing soon. Pleasantly surprised though, I thought the application would be in incognito mode forever!!

I hope once biometrics is done, the hassle of immigration would be considerably reduced, on the same lines as Dubai does, that’s such a breeze .

[itwasntme]

Rolling out at a great pace! Have always envied the ease at which other countries handle their Immigration. Hope we can experience it too very soon, beyond the initial pilot at IGIA.

Only wish they expand the biometrics to the domestic side as well and or other touchpoints. People are much more likely to travel domestically, and can quickly complete the biometrics bit instead of waiting till the next international trip. Going to the FRROs is also a bit of a pain.

Centre's New Programme Lets You Clear Immigration At Airports In Seconds

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/cent...ndtv_topscroll

[NomadSK]

I had completely forgot about this Fast Track Immigration, So while waiting at the immigration line at Delhi airport some days back, it strike me that I can continue this process and close the loop.

So while doing the immigration (manually), I asked the guy for the procedure, after letting me in through the gates, he told me to go to the last counter (No-40) to complete the process. Only one counter is doing this enrollment. Where the immigration officer took the biometric impression of all the fingers and said it’s all done (within a minute or max two) and showed me 7/8 automatic e-gates where from next time I can directly complete my immigration with just passport scanning.

I don’t know if I can use the e-gates while exiting the country or this process is only applicable for entry, will check during my exit time, fingers crossed!

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

I don’t know if I can use the e-gates while exiting the country or this process is only applicable for entry, will check during my exit time, fingers crossed !

So few days back, I used e-gates @ Delhi international airport to exit the country. I was the only one doing it, all e-gates were empty. Man it was breeze. The e-counters are the last ones towards the right while facing the manual immigration counters. Initially I was a bit skeptical, if this will work or not and a bit hesitant too. Happy that I tried and it worked.

Steps;

1) Scan your passport
2) Face scan
3) Fingers scan

You will be prompted on the screen for all the steps and voila Khul ja sim sim, the glass doors/gates open.

Best part is your passport don’t get the exit stamp and the pages are saved. Earlier I had to renew my passport when all the leaflets were filled in with visa stamps. Definitely a boon.

Validity of this is either 5 years or expiry of the passport, mine will expire within 9 months, so have to repeat this procedure again.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

So few days back, I used e-gates @ Delhi international airport to exit the country. I was the only one doing it, all e-gates were empty.

Both wifey and I used the E-gates at Chennai this week on both the outbound and inbound legs, and they were a cinch to use. . We were the only ones, and even the Immigration staff were looking up to watch us seamlessly sail through.

The system is still being rolled out, and they are yet to solve the issue of the lack of an outbound Immigration (actual ink) stamp on the boarding card, and hence the (6E + CISF) gate staff were convinced we had somehow bypassed Immigration . Their respective supervisors were called who told them in hushed tones that we used the E-gates, and to let us board ASAP.

Overall, deeply impressed by the setup. It is identical (as far as I know) as those in much more advanced countries and/or smaller populations. Was requested not to take any pictures or videos as mobile photography / videography is anyway not allowed in the immediate vicinity of the Immigration counters.

Further, the impending rollout of E-Passports will make the FTTI system even more robust:
https://www.mea.gov.in/rajya-sabha.h...URITY_FEATURES

[UD17]

Originally Posted by GoBabyGo

Hi, sharing you the details of Fast Track Immigration

Thanks for the useful information.

I got myself registered today. Let me complete the process at Mumbai airport in early march when i would be flying out. I would update Mumbai specific info later when i register my biometric in Mumbai.

[dass]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

The system is still being rolled out, and they are yet to solve the issue of the lack of an outbound Immigration (actual ink) stamp on the boarding card, and hence the (6E + CISF) gate staff were convinced we had somehow bypassed Immigration . Their respective supervisors were called who told them in hushed tones that we used the E-gates, and to let us board ASAP.

Might be a irrelevant question, however wanted to check if this lack of physical ink stamp on the passport will create any issues in foreign countries? While we have this system, not many countries do and I have usually seen them stamp on the same page where there is an outbound stamp from the host country.

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by dass

Might be a irrelevant question, however wanted to check if this lack of physical ink stamp on the passport will create any issues in foreign countries?

I was of the similar opinion, but having a physical stamp on your passport is a point of concern while traveling to certain countries. US/Canada have already moved to this system and If one wants to check the travel history they can just run in their immigration system. Looks like gradually every country will head towards this system.

I remember, I was traveling to Turkey some years back from 14/06 (14th of June) to 24/06 (24th of June) and after landing back was just checking my passport for dates of exit/entry stamps (was required to confirm my NRI status by tax authorities - another topic), I was shocked to see my exit was 14/06 (14th of June) while entry was 24/07 (24th of July), immediately I ran the digital system and was relieved to see my exit/entry dates same as 14/06 to 24/06. Probably the guy at the immigration counter had by mistake put 24/07 instead of 24/06 IMO on his rubber stamp and all other travelers on the same date at the same counter would have faced the same issue, may be they don't even know, who checks the dates on the stamp. Probably a human error (?).

While we have this system, not many countries do and I have usually seen them stamp on the same page where there is an outbound stamp from the host country.

Early 2000's, At Israel immigration, they will not stamp your passport if you will ask for, they will just stamp a paper and keep it in your passport and you have to handover the paper while exiting, so basically you would get recorded in their immigration system, rather than on your passport. Ensure the ink gets dry on paper and no Hebrew ink gets transferred to the passport. As you might know, with their physical stamp on passport, one cannot travel to lot many countries.

Bottomline - having no stamp on the passport would be a boon rather than a bane for travelers. And I guess with passport change/renewal, your further travel history vanishes from their systems or becomes redundant, as that old PP number would never pop up for further traveling. I don't know how that can be tracked with different passport numbers.

[dragracer567]

Quick question, can the enrolment be done at Delhi airport for the travellers who are inbound or only those who are outbound? That would be useful for NRI/OCI travellers like me who would like to enrol on arrival.

Also, how much earlier should/can we start the registration process before the expected date of arrival when we can register the prints/photo?

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

Quick question, can the enrolment be done at Delhi airport for the travellers who are inbound or only those who are outbound? That would be useful for NRI/OCI travellers like me who would like to enrol on arrival.

I did it while traveling inbound at Delhi. You can see my earlier posts on this page.

Also, how much earlier should/can we start the registration process before the expected date of arrival when we can register the prints/photo?

I did the registration in September, while I was supposed to travel by mid November. No physical print outs or photos are required. I guess you can start the procedure anytime, but biometric would be taken during the immigration time whenever you travel. This was the procedure.

Originally Posted by NomadSK

So while doing the immigration (manually), I asked the guy for the procedure, after letting me in through the gates, he told me to go to the last counter (No-40) to complete the process. Only one counter is doing this enrollment. Where the immigration officer took the biometric impression of all the fingers and said it’s all done (within a minute or max two) and showed me 7/8 automatic e-gates where from next time I can directly complete my immigration with just passport scanning.