Surat International Airport in Gujarat became the 14th Indian gateway to offer enrolment for the Fast-Track Immigration – Trusted Traveller Programme (FTI-TTP) on 30 January 2026. Special counters in both arrivals and departures now capture fingerprints and facial biometrics of Indian citizens and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card-holders who preregister on the Home Ministry portal.
Once approved, travellers receive a digital credential that unlocks automated e-gates at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and 10 other major hubs, cutting average immigration clearance from eight minutes to under 30 seconds. The scheme is India’s answer to Global Entry in the US and Registered Traveller in the UK, aimed at balancing security with passenger convenience.
![Surat Airport Starts Biometric Enrolment for Trusted Traveller Programme]()
For travellers who still need visas for their onward journeys, VisaHQ can take the sting out of the paperwork. Through its India platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/), the company offers step-by-step online applications, document pickup and delivery, and real-time status alerts for hundreds of destinations—making it easy to line up your travel documents while you register for FTI-TTP.
For exporting firms clustered around Surat’s diamond and textile hubs, the upgrade is significant. Executives shuttling between the city and overseas clients can now avoid lengthy queues when flying via Mumbai or Delhi. Airlines anticipate a bump in international traffic and are already lobbying for direct connections to Dubai and Singapore.
Enrolment is voluntary and free, but applicants must have a passport with at least two years’ validity and no adverse immigration history. Authorities plan to integrate FTI-TTP with Digi Yatra so that one QR code covers both domestic and international legs by mid-2027.
Once approved, travellers receive a digital credential that unlocks automated e-gates at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and 10 other major hubs, cutting average immigration clearance from eight minutes to under 30 seconds. The scheme is India’s answer to Global Entry in the US and Registered Traveller in the UK, aimed at balancing security with passenger convenience.
For travellers who still need visas for their onward journeys, VisaHQ can take the sting out of the paperwork. Through its India platform (https://www.visahq.com/india/), the company offers step-by-step online applications, document pickup and delivery, and real-time status alerts for hundreds of destinations—making it easy to line up your travel documents while you register for FTI-TTP.
For exporting firms clustered around Surat’s diamond and textile hubs, the upgrade is significant. Executives shuttling between the city and overseas clients can now avoid lengthy queues when flying via Mumbai or Delhi. Airlines anticipate a bump in international traffic and are already lobbying for direct connections to Dubai and Singapore.
Enrolment is voluntary and free, but applicants must have a passport with at least two years’ validity and no adverse immigration history. Authorities plan to integrate FTI-TTP with Digi Yatra so that one QR code covers both domestic and international legs by mid-2027.
