Indian biometric visa postponed

The Indian high commission postpones the introduction of biometric visa requirement for Malaysians to a later date to address several problems arising from the new system.

KUALA LUMPUR: The introduction of biometric visa requirements for Malaysian tourists travelling to India has been postponed to end of May, 2014.

The Indian High Commissioner T Tirumurti made the decision after a two hour meeting with MIC delegates at the party headquarters earlier today.

Present in the meeting were MIC secretary general A Prakash Rao, party treasurer general S Murugesan, information chief L Siva Subramaniam and central working committee (CWC) member KP Samy.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Prakash Rao, who led the MIC delegation, said that Trimurti has promised to consider the problems faced by visa applicants due to the biometric requirement.

“The high commissioner told us that the new system is applicable not only for Malaysia but other countries as well.

“We have learnt that India is going introduce the biometric system to Singapore as well come June,” he said.

On April 1, the Indian government introduced the biometric visa for all Malaysians planning to visit the subcontinent. Under the new system, visa applicants will be identified using fingerprints, iris scan and photograph. .

However, the new sytem came under heavy criticism from many quarters, which required applicants to be personally present at the Indian Visa Centre to have their biometric samples taken.

Malaysian tourists to Indian have complained that many of them live far away from the nation’s capital, which makes it difficult for them meet the new requirements.

On the matter, Prakash Rao said that the Indian high commission had promised to set up more visa centre branches nationwide to cater for those living in outskirts area.

“At the moment, they have three visa centres and are looking setting up seven more outlets in several areas, including East Malaysian states.

Prakash Rao added that for now, those planning a trip to India could still apply for their visa via travel agencies.

Indian biometric visa postponed