Union Cabinet approves extension of Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration & Tracking scheme for 5 years

The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of the Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration & Tracking (IVFRT) scheme for a period of five years till March 2031 with a budget outlay of ₹1,800 crore, the government stated on Wednesday (March 25, 2026).

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 scheme is to modernise and upgrade immigration and visa services within a secure and integrated service delivery framework.

This project was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in 2010 with a budget outlay of ₹1,011 crore. Several extensions were provided for the implementation in 2014, 2017, and 2021. The project was further extended till 2026 with enhanced budgetary allocation in 2021.

The scheme seeks to expand and strengthen the scope and capacity of the existing IVFRT scheme by revamping the existing structure and introducing 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 government stated in a release on.

“After the recent enactment of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 and its subsequent rules and order, it has become imperative to strengthen and modernise 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 government stated.

The continuation of the project is a strategic transformation with a vision to promote international mobility through a world-class immigration and visa issuance system, the Cabinet stated. The next phase would focus on three broad areas — emerging technology innovations, transformation of core infrastructure, and technology and service optimisation.

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

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, thereby giving a boost to the tourism, medical and business sectors.

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

The IVFRT system has led to significant improvements in service delivery and operational efficiency across immigration and visa functions. The system has enabled a 100% contactless and faceless visa process with online appointment scheduling and payment facilities, leading to faster visa processing times with 91.24% of e-visa applications having 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.

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 and OCI cardholders.

Huge economic benefits on account of ease of doing business, convenience and security assurance have been made possible by IVFRT system. Tourism, business, trade and commerce, service industry, especially aviation and hospitality, have been extensively benefitted by IVFRT.