What will be the main changes in the UK visa process within the next one year?

In a word—transformation. UKVI and VFS Global have been working together very closely in order to create an online, integrated application process. UKVI have developed and continued to refine our online application form, AccessUK, and by the end of 2018, AccessUK will be integrated with the VFS Global website to improve the online journey for our customers. After completing their application form customers will flow effortlessly onto VFS Global’s website where they will be able to book their appointment slot in one of our 18 service points across India and view and purchase any additional services offered by VFS Global which are intended to make their application process quicker, more convenient and more comfortable. UKVI and VFS Global have also been working to roll out a digital system to all customers across India. This will allow customers to self-upload their documents on VFS Global’s website so when they come to submit their biometrics at a Visa Application Centre they only have to bring their passport. Customers can continue to upload documents to support their application up until the day of their appointment at the service points. Alternatively, VFS Global will upload a customer’s documentation, for a fee, when they attend their appointment at one of our service points. This exciting development means customers no longer have to submit their documentation so no more lost documents, though we will still have to take your passport in order to place a vignette in the passport should a customer be granted a visa.

Customer service is a really important focal point for VFS Global. Is the same true for UKVI? How are you working on improving customer experience?

The digitisation move that I have already discussed is focused, above all, on offering a more efficient, reliable customer service globally and in India and South Asia especially. For example, customers in Thimpu in Bhutan can now apply for Priority Visa exclusively, because we were able to digitise our visa processes and remove the need to send documents on a long trip from Delhi to Bhutan. More broadly, we have rolled out the AccessUK form worldwide, which is a more customer-friendly form, available in 18 languages, including Hindi, Urdu, Tamil and Bengali. It’s much easier to use on a tablet or smartphone too.

The UK continues to be a preferred destination for travellers in India. Can you share some insights as to the latest travel trends for the UK?

Simply put, the market is booming. Our latest statistics–for the year ending June 2018–show that almost 551,000 Indian nationals were granted UK visas across all categories. That’s an increase of 10 per cent from previous year. Within that number we granted 450,000 visit visas, welcomed a 32 per cent increase in student numbers from India to the UK and saw more skilled work visas go to Indians than rest of the world combined. Together with VFS Global, we are meeting that demand well. For instance, 98 per cent of visitor visas are granted within our service standards of 15 working days from the point of visiting a VAC (or five working days with Priority Visa or one working day with Super Priority Visa)—so we can tell customers with confidence that, in almost all cases, we are doing what we say we are doing and providing a reliable service to those who apply.

From the UK’s official tourism agency, Visit Britain, we see the same positive trends too. In 2017, Indian tourists spent over £450 million in the UK—that’s over INR4,300 crore. And each individual Indian traveller spends on average £808 in the UK, so we can clearly see the value of our work. In terms of destinations it will come as no surprise that London is popular. But other destinations such as Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, the north of England and Cornwall (my favourite) are all notably increasing in popularity too. Next year, of course, we will see the Cricket World Cup come to England and Wales. We anticipate tens of thousands of Indians travelling for this event and therefore are encouraging early applications to ensure that they don’t get caught out by the rush next summer.

UKVI has always come up with solutions to increase convenience in the visa process for applicants. Which services have been the most popular?

My experience has been that visa customers care about three things—convenience, processing time and cost. And we have designed our services to give customers the greatest possible choice across these three priorities.

In terms of convenience, we have 18 UK Visa Application Centres in India—more than we have in any other nation. These include optional and temporary centres that people can pay to use instead of travelling greater distances to one of the permanent centres. Furthermore, together with VFS Global we offer services like ‘Keep My Passport When Applying’ which enables customers to travel or apply for other visas during the time their UK application is being considered.

For processing times, we have two fast-track products—Priority Visa (five working days) and Super Priority Visa (one working day). Both have proved popular. The PV service is available across 10 locations in India and Super Priority Visa was extended earlier this year to Pune and Bengaluru (in addition to Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai), which shows how regularly our customer offer expands.

In terms of cost, as I said earlier, we are committed to maintaining a core service for the basic visa fee cost. So a customer can choose not to opt for any additional services but still be confident that by paying the minimum visa fee, they can trust UKVI to turn their application around in 15 working days or less. Underpinning all of this is a programme of transformation that we are undertaking to improve our visa system. This involves investing in our processes, making them more digital and efficient, creating and using a new, more modern application form and offering additional services with VFS for customers to choose. Collectively, this will add to our customers’ ease and convenience by giving them greater options as to how and where they apply for a UK visa.

Is there an effort to further boost UK-bound tourism & in what way?

Yes, and Visit Britain are heavily investing in India for that very reason. This falls into three different areas. Firstly, the ‘I Travel For’ campaign has been running across events and social media over the past few months and will continue to do so. This campaign encourages people to find out unexpected experiences and discover new motivations to visit the UK—whether that’s for fun, adventure, food, history or anything else. Secondly is the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events sector (MICE). This is a large and growing sector, as Indian companies seek to build international links and reward their most productive employees with travel overseas. Visit Britain have started to proactively target this segment. UKVI value this group as well, for example, we have a dedicated MICE scheme that offers account management and reduced documentation for trusted partners in return for carrying out some pre-checks on the group travelling to ensure they are genuine and legitimate visitors.

And thirdly, Visit Britain are really pushing destination diversity within the UK. By that we mean, “Yes, of course visit London, but why not find out somewhere new as well?” Places such as Manchester, the Peak District, Bristol and the Welsh Valleys are all lovely, distinctive places to visit as part of a UK trip. And as part of the British Irish Visa Scheme (BIVS), Indian travellers can also add on a trip to the Republic of Ireland, a separate country with a whole new set of experiences, to their UK trip as well. I’m from south-west London so I know the capital very well and it is worth a visit, but why not add something new next time you go? A huge opportunity for this is the Cricket World Cup next year. India will play Pakistan at Old Trafford in Manchester next June and we know the interest here. Planning the trip–and making the visa application early–is a great excuse to visit a different part of the UK and experience Virat Kohli and other legends of the game whilst doing so.

Since the UK is a big destination for students in particular, how are you promoting student travel in India?

Students–and in particular Indian students–are of great importance to the UK Government, and are therefore, one of UKVI’s key customer groups. Together with British Council, every year we conduct outreach programmes across major cities in India to provide guidance to incoming students and make sure they are confident in filling out the forms and providing correct documents. In the coming months, we plan to hire additional staff and expand our video briefing activity to ensure we regularly reach more people for this goal. In terms of services, we are, together with VFS Global, developing specific products for students to give them affordable options to make this important process easier for them. The best example of this is the ‘On Demand Mobile Visa’. This is a service where VFS Global bring the biometrics process to any location the customer wants it, saving the need to travel to a VAC at all. Previously this has been aimed at business executives, but together with VFS Global we are able to provide a more student-friendly offer hosted by Indian universities or education agents for groups of students who may find it tricky to visit a VAC.

What are the new and emerging destinations in the UK that you recommend for visitors, anything ‘off the beaten path’ perhaps?

Northern Ireland has really jumped in terms of popularity in recent years. It was a major location for the filming of Game of Thrones and there are tours and walks available for people who want to relive their own piece of Westeros. It also has natural wonders such as the Giant's Causeway as well as man-made ones such as the shipyards that built the Titanic, for people to see.

Cardiff–the capital of Wales–is a bustling and busy city with great nightlife, restaurants and culture and it has easy access down to the beaches and countryside of the Gower—a popular domestic tourism location with some of the most beautiful beaches in Europe.

Scotland is world famous for its mountains, its whisky and its history. But there are other events, such as the North Coast 500, a stunning road tour of northern Scotland and the Highland Games every summer, where you can toss cabers, throw hammers, and join in a tug-of-war like the clan warriors of the past.

For me, my favourite place to visit is Cornwall, in the south-west of England. It has everything you need for a holiday—beaches, watersports, great English food and a real sense of its own identity, that includes Cornish, its own language!

As we enter into the winter holiday season, which are the winter destinations in the UK you would recommend to tourists?

It really depends what you’re after. London in winter is a favourite of many, with Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and Christmas shopping opportunities on Oxford Street rightfully enjoying international reputations.

If you want to experience something more rural and quiet, you can head to the Lake District and Peak District, or picture postcard towns and cities such as York. And if you want to see snow you can do that too with places like the Scottish Highlands regularly getting significant snowfall for most of the winter. Up on Scottish peaks such as the Cairngorms, Glencoe or Aviemore, you can even do some alpine skiing. Whatever you do, my advice is that you pack warm clothes before you go!