New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the continuation of the Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) Scheme beyond March 31, 2026 for a period of five years -- from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2031 -- with a budget outlay of Rs 1,800 crore.

The IVFRT platform seeks to interlink and optimise functions related to immigration, visa issuance and registration of foreigners in India.

The core objective of the IVFRT is to modernise and upgrade immigration and visa services within a secure and integrated service delivery framework. It aims to facilitate legitimate travellers while strengthening national security, according to an official statement.

This project was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on May 13, 2010 with a budget outlay of Rs 1,011 crore and with project duration till September, 2014. The budget outlay for the project was revised to Rs. 638.90 crore in 2015 along with extension of the implementation timeline up to March 31, 2017, and further up to March 31, 2021 without any additional financial implications.

An expenditure of Rs 613.28 core was incurred against the total revised outlay of Rs 638.90 crore. The extension of the project for a further continuation for a period of five years from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026 was approved by the Cabinet on January 19, 2022 with a budget outlay of Rs 1,365 crore, the statement said.

The scheme seeks to expand and strengthen the scope and capacity of the existing IVFRT Scheme not only by reimagining and revamping the existing structure, but also introducing the state-of-the-art technological solutions to enhance user experience without compromising the security architecture. The modernisation of the IVFRT project is essential to meet the evolving demands of global travel and address emerging national security challenges, the statement explained.

After the recent enactment of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 and its subsequent Rules and Order, it has become imperative to strengthen and modernize the Immigration, Visa, and Foreigners Registration & Tracking (IVFRT) system to effectively meet emerging requirements and future challenges in the domain of immigration control and foreigner management including illegal migration.

The continuation of the project is not just a technical upgrade, but a strategic transformation aligned with the vision of the Government of India to promote international mobility through a world-class immigration and visa issuance system.

The next phase would focus on three broad areas including emerging technology innovations, transformation of core infrastructure, and technology and service optimization, the statement said.

The scheme will modernise the immigration and visa ecosystem through adoption of emerging technologies, including mobile-based services and self-service kiosks for seamless and secure passenger movement. It will upgrade and expand core infrastructure across Immigration Posts, FRROs, and Data Centres to build a resilient and scalable system nationwide.

Additionally, it will optimise technology and service delivery by introducing unified digital platforms, revamping core application architecture, and strengthening network and deployment frameworks for improved efficiency and user experience, which will facilitate legitimate travellers while strengthening national security. It will help maintaining service continuity and induct innovative technological solutions to attract more foreign tourists in India in future.

This will thus give a boost to the tourism, medical and business sectors. IVFRT has immense positive externalities that would boost international traffic, business, commerce, and tourism. This would pave the way for economic growth and would thus contribute towards employment opportunities, the statement further explained.

The scheme has covered 117 Immigration Posts (JPs), 15 Foreigners Regional Registration Officers (FRROs) and 854 Foreigners Registration Officers (FROs)/Superintendents of Police (SPs)/Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) across the country.

IVFRT system has led to significant improvements in service delivery and operational efficiency across immigration and visa functions. The system has enabled a 100 per cent contactless and faceless visa process with online appointment scheduling and payment facilities, leading to faster visa processing times with 91.24 per cent of e-Visa applications have been cleared within 72 hours during the past five years.

Average passenger clearance time at Immigration Posts has also been reduced to 2.5-3 minutes including biometrics, from the conventional 5-6 minutes, the statement said.

Also, Fast Track Immigration-Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) through automated e-gates implemented at 13 Major airports, reduces the time taken for immigration clearance from 2.5-3 minutes to 30 seconds. Its enrolment is on gratis basis currently available for Indian nationals & OCI cardholders.

--IANS

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