New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the extension for five years of the Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration & Tracking (IVFRT) Scheme, which aims to interlink and optimise functions related to immigration, visa issuance, and registration of foreigners in India.
The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the continuation of the scheme from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2031, with a budget outlay of Rs 1,800 crore, a government statement said.
The continuation of the scheme is not just a “technical upgrade, but a strategic transformation” aligned with the vision of the government to promote international mobility through a world-class immigration and visa issuance system, it said.
“After the recent enactment of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 and its subsequent Rules and Order, it has become imperative to strengthen and modernize the Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration & Tracking (IVFRT) system to effectively meet emerging requirements and future challenges in the domain of immigration control and foreigner management, including illegal migration,” it said.
The IVFRT platform will connect and streamline immigration, visa issuance, and foreigner registration in India by modernising and upgrading immigration and visa services within a secure, integrated service-delivery framework.
The scheme aims to modernise the immigration and visa ecosystem by adopting emerging technologies, including mobile-based services and self-service kiosks, to enable seamless and secure passenger movement, the statement said.
Under the scheme, upgradation and expansion of core infrastructure across Immigration Posts, FRROs, and Data Centres will be undertaken to build a resilient and scalable system nationwide.
“The scheme seeks to expand and strengthen the scope and capacity of the existing IVFRT Scheme not only by reimagining and revamping the existing structure, but also introducing the state-of-the-art technological solutions to enhance user experience without compromising the security architecture,” the statement said.
Approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in 2010 with a budget outlay of Rs 1,011 crore, the scheme facilitates legitimate travellers while strengthening national security.
This initial duration of the project was till September, 2014.
“The budget outlay for the project was revised to Rs 638.90 crore in 2015 along with extension of the implementation timeline up to 31st March, 2017, and further up to 31st March, 2021 without any additional financial implications,” the statement said.
The extension of the project for a further continuation for a period of five years from April 01, 2021 to March 31, 2026 was approved by the Cabinet on January 19, 2022 with a budget outlay of Rs 1,365 crore, it said.
