New Delhi: The Union cabinet has approved ₹1,800 crore for continuing the Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration & Tracking (IVFRT) project beyond March 31, for another five years.
IVFRT, operational since 2010, assists immigration officers and interlinks all functions related to immigration, visa issuance, and registration of foreigners in India.
The identity of travellers is authenticated at the Indian missions abroad, Immigration Check Posts (ICPs), and Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs), and information such as hotel form, student form, and arrival/departure data is stored in the IVFRT database.
Notably, the immigration authorities were able to locate the recently arrested six Ukrainian nationals and an American citizen, Mathew VanDyke, by tracing the Form-C mandatorily submitted by all foreigners to the FRROs (Foreigner Regional Registration Office) regarding their hotel stay.
According to a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau, “The core objective of the IVFRT is to modernize and upgrade immigration and visa services within a secure and integrated service delivery framework. It aims to facilitate legitimate travellers while strengthening national security.”
