More foreign guests get visas in Chennai

CHENNAI: An increasing number of foreign nationals are using the visa-on-arrival facility to visit Chennai because of the city’s bustling medical tourism market and with several international conferences being hosted here.

According to bureau of immigration officials, only Delhi and Mumbai receive more people of foreign nationality using the provision than Chennai, which welcomed 2,273 visitors using the facility in 2012, more than Bangalore and Hyderabad.

More citizens of Japan (4,604) made use of the provision to visit the country last year than people of any other country. New Zealand nationals (3,150) and those of the Philippines (2,444) accounted for the second and third highest numbers in 2012, according to data from the ministry of tourism.

Officials said most foreign nationals visited Chennai to attend conferences and for medical procedures. India offers the visa-on-arrival facility to citizens of 14 countries including Japan, Finland, Singapore and New Zealand. The ministry of external affairs last May extended the facility to French, German and Russian nationals.

Tourism companies confirm that more customers now get their visas when they arrive in the city. “Five years ago most visitors were people with ethnic links to Tamil Nadu, said Basheer Ahmed of Metro Travels. “Over the past three years, however, more foreign nationals started to use visas on arrival for business and medical reasons and even for shopping.

Indian and foreign airlines also committed more violations of passport rules last year. The bureau of immigration had from November 1 to January 29 fined various airlines a total of Rs 50 lakh for flying passengers into Chennai in violation of the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000.

The law is intended to make ‘carriers’, which includes the owners of airlines or ships, liable for bringing passengers to the country in contravention of provisions of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.

Carriers often bring people to the city from abroad without certifying that they hold valid travel documents or are entitled to the visa-on-arrival provision.

“There has been big rise in the number of foreign nationals visiting Chennai with the visa-on-arrival provision,” a senior immigration official said. Most of these visitors come to Chennai on invitation to conferences and other events as well as for healthcare facilities at the city’s world-class hospitals. The official said the immigration department expects the numbers to increase further this year.

More foreign guests get visas in Chennai