UK expands Indian visa fraud awareness campaign to Tamil Nadu

London, Nov 21 (PTI) A new British government campaign to counter visa fraud activities at source was on Friday expanded to Tamil Nadu during UK Foreign Office Minister Seema Malhotra’s visit to India this week.  The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the campaign aims to reduce the number of Indians travelling to Britain on fake visas, with both countries cooperating to protect travellers from scams and tackle illegal migration.

Malhotra, the UK’s minister in charge of the Indo-Pacific, launched the campaign in Chennai following a successful pilot already underway in Punjab.   “This government is acting to stem the flow of illegal migration at its source – using campaigns targeted at hotspot areas to prevent visa fraud, keeping people safe while securing our borders," said Malhotra.   The expanded anti-fraud campaign will include targeted outreach in high-risk areas and a Tamil-language WhatsApp chatbot to enable Indian nationals to identify visa scams and be alert to fraudulent agents, the FCDO said.  The move comes amid wider UK government crackdowns on illegal migration by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who has tabled a series of new measures to reduce asylum arrivals and sanction human traffickers in the House of Commons this week.  The FCDO said the anti-fraud campaign demonstrates the continuing momentum of the India-UK partnership, “working together to protect vulnerable people and strengthen border security”.

It said the move builds on ‘UK-India Vision 2035’, an agreement which covers a commitment to tackling exploitation by criminal organisations and reducing irregular migration.   Indian-origin minister Seema Malhotra’s visit to India is also pegged as taking forward the recently signed landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is projected to increase bilateral trade by 25.5 billion pounds a year.   “During my visit, I will also see first-hand how our landmark Free Trade Agreement will create thousands of jobs, bringing investment back to the UK,” said Malhotra.  Her visits follow Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s trade mission to India last month and will involve meetings with British businesses in Chennai and Bengaluru – including Tesco, Revolut and BT – to hear first-hand how the “UK-India FTA is helping them grow and bring investment back to the UK”.  From India, the minister will head to the Maldives to review how UK support is helping a nation on the frontline of the climate crisis adapt and protect itself. She is set to visit a UK-supported mangrove conservation project in Huraa, which supports biodiversity and local livelihoods.   Malhotra is also scheduled to meet with senior Maldives ministers covering foreign affairs, environment and defence to deepen cooperation on clean energy, maritime security and counterterrorism as the UK and Maldives mark 60 years of diplomatic relations, FCDO said. PTI AK SKS SKS