Visa

SC to hear Centre's plea on overseas visa services tender on July 20

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on July 20 the Centre's plea against a Delhi High Court verdict setting aside the tender awarded to private firms for outsourcing Consular, Passport and Visa (CPV) services at Indian missions in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore and Canberra. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was urged by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the high court's decision has made rendering of visa and other services at these places difficult. The CJI agreed to hear the plea on Monday. While setting aside the tender awarded to private firms for outsourcing CPV services, the high court had directed the Centre to issue a fresh Request for Proposals (RFP), inviting fresh bids. The solicitor general said that fresh tenders were awarded following the procedure, but no new entity can start functioning straightaway, and as a result, such services have almost become dysfunctional. In its verdict, the high court said that w

Delhi HC voids visa, passport services tender for Australia, Singapore

Delhi High Court has set aside the government's tender for outsourcing passport, visa and consular services in Australia, Singapore, the UAE and Kuwait, directing authorities to invite fresh bids

Donald Trump to limit student visas to four years in latest crackdown

US tightens student visa rules with four-year stay limit, requiring extensions for longer academic programmes

Japan travel costs more from July as departure tax triples to ¥3,000

For most international visitors, the biggest impact will be a higher airfare or cruise fare rather than an additional payment at departure.

Visa passkeys go live in India as IDFC First Bank becomes first issuer

Visa Payment Passkey allows cardholders to authenticate online transactions using biometrics, PINs, passwords or patterns instead of traditional one-time passwords

Visa says authentication must move beyond OTPs, launches Payment Passkey

Digital payment authentication must move beyond passwords and one-time passwords (OTPs) as artificial intelligence-driven commerce gathers pace, a top Visa official said on Thursday. "Authentication cannot remain dependent on passwords or one-time codes designed for an earlier digital era. It must become secured by design, invisible to the consumer, and resilient against increasingly sophisticated fraud," Suresh Sethi, group country manager for India and South Asia of Visa, said at a company event. The global payments major launched its 'Payment Passkey' solution in India on Thursday. The company said VPP enables consumers to authenticate online card payments using capabilities already built into their mobile devices, including fingerprint, facial recognition, device PIN or pattern, instead of relying solely on OTPs. This helps satisfy the two-factor authentication requirement applicable in India. Sethi said the solution is built on globally accepted FIDO standards and is designed

UAE changes visa rules for Indians: Who can still get visa-on-arrival

Indian travellers with US or EU visas can continue to access conditional visa-on-arrival, while a longer 60-day option may be introduced.

Visa enables ChatGPT's AI agents to shop, complete purchases for users

Payments giant Visa said Wednesday that it has embedded its payment network inside of ChatGPT, empowering the chatbot to independently shop and complete transactions on behalf of its user. It means AI agents can not only recommend products but complete the purchase on the user's behalf, at potentially any merchant that accepts Visa. The payment network's previous attempts at this technological leap were confined to a single retailer or a small set of enrolled merchants. It is not OpenAI's first attempt at e-commerce. The company late last year announced Instant Checkout, which allowed ChatGPT to scour the internet for a specific item like a digital personal shopper. But the process was prone to errors and was not widely adopted by merchants due to the fee that OpenAI was charging merchants. The company retired Instant Checkout in March. Visa's collaboration is different from OpenAI's previous attempts, as it will allow users to link their Visa cards to ChatGPT to shop and make it ..

US tightens H-1B rules: Green Card process gets stricter, crackdown on low-wage hiring intensifies

The US is tightening its H-1B visa and Green Card processes, making immigration more selective.

Lufthansa Group welcomes visa-free airport transit for Indians via Germany

The Lufthansa Group currently operates more than 70 weekly flights between India and Europe and has been present in the Indian market for over six decades

South Korea opens talent visa to researchers, lifts hiring cap: Details

Seoul broadens talent visa access and allows firms to hire more skilled foreign workers

Visa appoints Shah Rukh Khan as brand ambassador for India campaign

The payments giant launched its "Infinitely More" campaign focused on affluent, experience-driven Indian consumers

Indians no longer need transit visa at German airports from June 3

Indian nationals will no longer need a transit visa when travelling to another country with a layover at a German airport, the country's embassy said here on Tuesday. The decision will come into effect on June 3, 2026. Every year, a large number of Indians, including students, professionals and tourists, travel through German airports, on way to other destinations. "Indian nationals will no longer need a transit visa when travelling to another country with a layover at a German airport. The lifting of the so-called airport transit visa requirement for Indian citizens was announced in the Federal Law Gazette on June 2, 2026, and takes effect on June 3, 2026," the German embassy said in a statement. "It underlines the Federal Government's commitment to deepening German-Indian relations, facilitating the movement of people, and further strengthening economic ties," it said. This comes as a result of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to India in January, the embassy said. In

Young Indians to benefit from easing of Dubai's visa-linked property rules

Dubai's decision to ease visa-linked property investment norms is expected to increase participation from young Indian buyers and mid-income professionals

Trilegal appoints Sandeep Ghosh as its first chief executive officer

Law firm says appointment marks a key leadership transition aimed at strengthening operational capabilities and supporting long-term institutional growth

Kazakhstan announces 10-year Golden Visa for investors, IT talent: Details

New Altyn Visa promises tax incentives, easier residency and long-term access for foreign investors

Trump administration plans to raise cost of hiring H-1B workers by 30%

The new thresholds are ultimately likely to shrink opportunities for young talent as employers balk at paying more

Where India’s rich are spending their money | Visa report | Ultra-elite | Travel | Luxury

India is seeing a sharp rise in affluent consumers and they’re spending big. From luxury travel and fine dining to gadgets and wellness, India’s wealthy are reshaping consumption patterns.

Visa appoints Suresh Sethi as group country manager for India, South Asia

Visa, a payment gateway provider, on Monday announced that Suresh Sethi has been appointed Group Country Manager for India and South Asia. In this role, Sethi will lead Visa's strategy and operations across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan, the company said in a statement. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who is leaving Visa for other opportunities. Based in Mumbai, Sethi will report to Stephen Karpin, Regional President, Asia Pacific, Visa, it said. Most recently, Sethi served as MD and CEO of Protean e-Gov Technologies Ltd, where he led its transformation into an agile, product-led Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) institution, it added.

As affluence rises, Indians spend more on travel than retail: Visa

Travel is becoming the biggest spending category for affluent Indians, with luxury consumers choosing experiences over retail as wealth and discretionary spending rise