Since the Customs and Border Protection of the United States of America launched the Trusted Traveller Programme / Global Entry over a decade ago, many countries have used various forms of biometrics or smart-card-enabled formats to enable their citizens and other low-risk travellers to enter their borders without having to wait for a border police/passport control officer to meet them and stamp their passport to waive them in. India is next in line.
Government of India launches Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme for Indians and OCIs.
The Government of India has launched a Trusted Traveller Programme, which will enable fast-track immigration for Indians and Overseas Indian Citizens (a perpetual Indian visa for those who have a relationship with India).
The Fast Track Immigration—Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) is loosely modelled on the Global Entry programme of US Customs and Border Protection.
This initiative allows Indian nationals & OCI cardholders to use e-gates, bypassing regular immigration queues.
With eight electronic gates at Terminal 3, FTI-TTP aims to enhance travel convenience, reduce congestion, and provide a seamless travel experience. pic.twitter.com/WRgFPlpDrQ
— Delhi Airport (@DelhiAirport) June 22, 2024
Eligible individuals will need to apply online and submit their biometrics (fingerprint and facial image) along with other required information as specified in the application form. The FTI registration will be valid for a maximum of five years or until the validity of the passport, whichever comes first.
Approved applications would receive a message to schedule an appointment to provide their biometric details.
The applicant may provide their biometrics at a designated international airport in India or the nearest FRRO office as per the prior appointment schedule. Biometrics are compulsory for the application processing to be completed. While applying for FTI-TTP, the applicant must ensure a minimum passport validity of at least six months.
Registration under FTI will be completed after the necessary verifications and eligibility confirmation. Applicable FTI-TTP processing charges must be paid when applying. The application shall be submitted only after the non-refundable processing fee has been successfully paid. Applicants will be registered after their identity has been successfully authenticated through mobile OTP and email verification.
Registration for FTI-TTP
Here is the website where one can apply for FTI-TTP registration. The FTI-TTP processing fee is INR 2000 for Indian Nationals, INR 1000 for Indian Nationals (Minors), and USD 100 for OCI cardholders.
Applicants must upload one passport-sized photograph and the passport’s first and last pages containing the passport holder’s information. For OCIs, a scanned copy of documents like the OCI card is needed in case Indians settle overseas. Present Proof of address in PDF format is also required.
The first airport to go live with the facility to arrive using FTI-TTP facility is Delhi IGI Airport, where biometric gates were installed in 2020. Eight e-gates are now available at Delhi Airport for those registered for this facility.
Next up, this facility will be introduced at the following airports: Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Ahmedabad.
Bottomline
India has finally launched a biometric system to allow Indian citizens and OCIs to enter the country on their return to India without having to wait to go through manual immigration/passport control. The system was inaugurated on June 22, 2024, and the Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme is open for registration.
What do you think of the Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme?
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Have you been able to register? Not going through for me with a US number, and Flyertalk indicates that it is a common problem. Also, where did you get the pricing from? As the official press release says it will be ‘free to use.’ The website is very barebones, I wish it allowed signup via email instead of phone number, and gave more details on what the program is and what to expect.
@Jason, seems they wanted to charge for it, but last minute made it free. The initial details released to us stated the price.
How does biometrics work for kids? I don’t see any minimum age criteria mentioned on their website. Any idea?
@Anshul, I would assume they did not think that through at the moment. I would be able to provide more details once real life data points are available.
Thanks Ajay. They’ve defined the processing fee for minor, but strangely haven’t defined a minor for the purpose of biometrics (unless I missed it anywhere on their website)!