What is the Fast Track Immigration Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP)?

About Fast Track Immigration Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP):

• It is an initiative by the Central Government, designed for faster, smoother, and safer immigration clearance.
• It is likely to help reduce congestion at airports by offering expedited emigration and immigration clearance for pre-verified travellers.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs collaborated with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Bureau of Immigration for the FTI-TTP.
• The FTI-TTP is similar to the Global Entry Program offered by the United States.
  • It allows pre-approved and low-risk travellers to benefit from expedited immigration and security clearance upon arrival.
• Other than New Delhi, the FTI-TTP was launched in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, and Ahmedabad airports in the first phase.
• The FTI-TTP would run on e-gates or automated border gates that would minimise human intervention in the immigration clearance process and would be implemented in two phases.
  • In the first phase, Indian citizens and OCI cardholders will be covered, and foreign travellers will be included in the second phase.
• The FTI-TTP will be implemented through an online portal, and the Bureau of Immigration will be the nodal agency.
• To enroll in the scheme, the applicant has to register online on the portal with details and documents.
• Once the application for FTI-TTP is approved, those individuals will not need to go through the arduous process of standing in long queues for immigration clearance while arriving in India.
• The FTI registration will be valid for a maximum of five years or until the validity of the passport, whichever comes first.
• Process:
  • Under the process, as soon as the registered passenger reaches the e-gate, he/she will scan his/her boarding pass issued by the airlines at the e-gates to get the details of his/her flight.
  • The passport will be scanned, and the biometrics of the passenger will be authenticated at the e-gates.
  • Once the identity of the passenger is established and biometric authentication is done, the e-gate will open, and immigration clearance will be deemed to have been granted.

Q1: What is the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Scheme?

OCI citizens are of Indian origin but they are foreign passport holders and are not citizens of India. The OCI Scheme was introduced by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955, in August 2005. It provides long-term visa-free travel and stay in India and gives the cardholders a host of privileges normally not given to a foreign national.

Source: Amit Shah inaugurates 'Fast Track Immigration Trusted Traveller Programme' at Delhi IGI airport: What it means