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India waives biometric capture for arriving cruise tourists
The simplified immigration clearance procedure, along with port fees restructuring and standard operating procedures are all recent key actions taken by the Indian government driven by the MoS and Ministry of Tourism to bring India’s cruise operations in line with international best practices.
In an attempt to speed up immigration clearance for cruise passengers, the government of India has waived the requirement of capturing biometrics for visiting cruise tourists arriving on an e-visa.
The e-visa facility is available for passengers arriving by cruise ship at Mumbia, Cochin, Mormugao, Chennai and New Mangalore. Until now, biometrics were a requirement at the first port of arrival.
At the request of the Ministry of Shipping (MoS), the Ministry of Home Affairs issued the waiver notice which will run for three years until end December 2020.
‘This will be immensely helpful to cruising in India,’ Gautam Dey, senior deputy traffic manager at Mumbai Port Trust, told Seatrade Cruise News.