Foreigners arriving in India will no longer need to fill out physical disembarkation cards. The process goes digital via an e-arrival card system aimed at easing airport immigration queues.
NEW DELHI: In a move to simplify the immigration process and reduce airport congestion, the Indian government has officially scrapped the requirement for foreign travellers to fill out paper disembarkation cards starting October 1. This development will replace the manual system with a streamlined e-arrival card submission prior to travel.
The Union home ministry confirmed the shift to digital arrival cards, which will require visitors to submit essential information such as passport details, nationality, purpose of travel, local stay address, and contact number. The process is fully online and does not involve any document uploads. Indian nationals and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders are exempt from this new requirement.
The move is part of broader digitisation efforts led by the government to improve passenger experience at Indian airports. Earlier, home minister Amit Shah inaugurated the Fast Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) at five more airports, including Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Trichy, Kozhikode, and Amritsar.
Initially launched in Delhi in 2024, the fast-track facility now operates at 13 Indian airports, also covering Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and soon to expand to Navi Mumbai and Greater Noida. The programme allows registered Indian and OCI travellers to receive immigration clearance in as little as 30 seconds, reducing long queues and manual processing.
According to official data released on September 11, over 3 lakh travellers have enrolled in the FTI-TTP portal, with 2.65 lakh having already used the service during their travels.
This initiative reflects India’s ongoing commitment to using technology to enhance efficiency and ease of travel for international visitors.
