Beginning on October 1, individuals from abroad arriving in India will no longer be required to complete physical disembarkation cards at immigration checkpoints. The Union home ministry has announced that this procedure will transition to an online format, enabling travelers to submit a digital arrival card prior to their journey. The e-arrival card will request essential information such as passport number, nationality, purpose of visit, local address, and contact details. There will be no need for document uploads. Indian nationals and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders are not required to complete this form. This initiative is part of the government’s strategy to minimize airport delays through the use of technology. Earlier this month, Union home minister Amit Shah inaugurated the Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) at five airports: Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Trichy, Kozhikode, and Amritsar. This program, which is accessible to Indian citizens and OCI holders, was initially launched in Delhi in 2024 and subsequently expanded to Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Kochi, and Ahmedabad. In total, 13 airports now provide this service, with Navi Mumbai and Greater Noida also expected to participate. “Travelers now encounter no lengthy queues or manual inspections, receiving immigration clearance in merely 30 seconds without any delays. Approximately 300,000 travelers have registered on the (FTI-TTP) portal, of which 265,000 have utilized it during their travels,” the government stated in a release on September 11.
