Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the Indian visa application process on UK visitors to that country; what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the present visa system; if he will make an estimate of the number of prospective tourists that would be affected; and if he has had recent discussions with his Indian counterpart on these changes.

This is an internal matter for the Government of India (GoI). We respect the Indian Government's right to set its migration and citizenship policies, just as we expect the Indian authorities to respect UK Government policy. We regularly raise the matter of our exclusion from the list of countries eligible for e-visas with the GoI. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary raised this with the Indian External Affairs Minister during his visit to India on 29 October. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon also raised it with the Indian High Commissioner on 25 October. British nationals can continue to use the GoI's regular/paper visa application services for all visa categories. We will update India Travel Advice with the latest information if there are any changes in India's visa rules.