British PM Theresa May Promises To Make It Easier For Indian Businesspersons To Travel To UK
Indian businesspersons will now be able to visit the United Kingdom (UK) for business with fewer procedures to worry about. The UK announced Monday (7 November 2016) a more liberal visa regime for Indian businesspersons that will involve swifter passage through British airports and access to the European Union (EU), reported Firstpost.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is here in New Delhi, said at the ongoing India-UK Tech Summit:
So we will offer, for the first time to any country that needs visas to enter Britain, what we called ‘Registered Traveller Scheme’. That means the Indian nationals who frequently come to the UK and to fuel growth in both our countries, the entry process will become significantly easier.
Part of the benefits, May said, would be fewer forms to fill, access to the European Economic Area and quicker passage through British airports.
May said that earlier as home secretary, she had made it easier for Indians to come to Britain.
It is crucial that those who do need to travel between our countries for business can do so, that is the reason why when I was Home Secretary, I made visa process for Indians much easier.
As per the Firstpost report, May said at the event that India “has one of the best UK visa services in the world with more application points than any other country.”
May also said Britain was working with India to make it easier to do business here.
We can break down barriers and make it easier to do business...That is why the UK is working side by side with Prime Minister Modi to make it easier to do business in India, for example by strengthening intellectual property rights, and paving the way for world’s leading services sector to operate in Indian market benefiting India and UK alike, But I am determined that we will go further.
May aimed at deepening trade ties with India before Britain left the EU. Already, the UK is the largest G20 investor in India, a fact Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself alluded to in his speech at the event. A 2015 report by the UK Trade & Investment revealed that India was the third-largest source of foreign direct investment into the UK. “In 2014 alone, investment from India into the UK increased by 64%, and is now almost level with France, the UK's second-largest investor after the US,” said a 2015 BBC report.
Enhancing trade and investment ties with India is part of the purpose of May’s visit to India, her first bilateral visit outside Europe. Defence and security are other key areas that will be discussed during her stay in India.