Biometric data collection will be introduced as part of the UK visa application process in India from Dec 12, British Deputy High Commissioner for south India Mike Connor said here on Thursday.

  He said this was part of the UK Government’s policy to introduce biometric data collection world-wide by early 2008. “ India is one of the last countries to be brought into this programme that has already been introduced in some 130 countries”, he added. Under the system, all visa applicants in India will be required to attend  a designated collection point to provide ten-finger scans and a digital photograph.

  Describing it as an entirely electronic process that required no ink or che micals, Mr Connor said “ the process is quick, discreet and simple”. He said application would take longer to process, up to five days for straightforward applications, as the Indian law does not allow encrypted data collected from various centres to be transmitted directly to the master computer in the UK.