Super Priority Visa, A first of its kind visa launched by UK for Indian travellers

A first of its kind and all new "super priority" same-day visa service has been launched by Britain for urgent travellers from India.

British Prime Minister David Cameron during his visit to the country in February earlier this year announced the Super Priority Visa Service. The service to be launched anywhere in the world by the UK Home Office is open for appointment bookings in India from today.

The British High Commissioner to India, Sir James Bevan said, "I am delighted to see the Super Priority Visa service being launched in India before any other country. For the first time, Indian visitors will now have the option of a same-day visa to the UK. This underlines our strong commitment to make an already excellent visa service even better. We expect this new service to be particularly useful for business."

He also added, "This service will cater to those who need to travel on very short notice because opportunities arise at short notice. We want Indian entrepreneurs and businessmen to be able to seize these. The UK and India are already on course to double bilateral trade by 2015. The new Super Priority Visa will help make sure that we hit this target."

The new service is available to customers applying for a six-month or two-year multiple entry visit visa (excluding student visitors) and those have previously travelled to the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada or a Schengen country within the last 5 years.

The service is also available to visa applicants sponsored by companies who are members of the UK's Business Express Programme.

The Super Priority Visa is an optional service, which incurs an additional fee of 600 pounds besides the standard fee for the type of visa being applied for. 

Applicants need to complete an online form and submit their applications, by appointment, before 9. 30 am. If an application is successful, the visa will be ready for collection by 5.30 pm the same day in New Delhi or by 6.30 pm the same day in Mumbai. 

The latest service does not replace the process for expediting visas on compassionate grounds.

India is the UK's biggest visa operation in the world, where around 400,000 applications are processed each year and the government claims that the large of applications - over 97 per cent of UK business visit visas and 86 per cent of visit visas - are approved.