CKGS Contract with the Indian Government Set to Expire

If you are coming from outside the United States, you already know at this point that without a well-set visa, you won’t be permitted to stay or even enter the country. If this isn’t your first time coming into the United States, the chances are that you already know where you need to go and what exactly you have to sign.

However, if you are still a newbie in the matter, you might not yet be aware of what companies such as the CKGS can do to help you or that the contracts made by them can also expire. As an immigrant, this can certainly affect you to a good extent – which is why you may want to learn as much as you can about these circumstances.

What Is CKGS?

The CKGS (Cox & Kings Ltd.) was founded in 1752 by Richard Cox, and you may say that it is one of the oldest travel agencies in the world. The company has its headquarters in India, but it also opened subsidiaries in a variety of countries such as Canada, the U.S., the U.K., the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The company operates worldwide, and at this point, it’s going across a total of 22 countries over 4 continents.

From a historical point of view, the CKGS has been various things. It’s been a publisher, an army agent, a printer – and now, a travel agent. However, its main activities now focus on holiday packages. It mostly caters to corporate and leisure traveling for the NRI, along with renewal of passport (or its renunciation), visa processing, translation, and foreign exchange. Aside from the classic corporate visits or regular family visits, the CKGS also offers fancy escapades for people that simply desire a break.

What Does CKGS Do for the Indian Government?

As previously stated, the CKGS offers a lot of services for the NRI (non-resident Indian) people that want to travel. Among those services, you might find the following:

Application or Documentation Management

If the people do not necessarily have the time to submit the applications due to the multitude of paperwork, the CKGS will contact the Indian Government and gather the paperwork necessary through its ADM service. This will save time on the paper-gathering and acceptance process, allowing visas to be accorded sooner than the anticipated deadline.

Translation

When someone is traveling from one place to another, such as from India to the United States, you need to have documents that are translated into both languages. This is why the CKGS offers translation services so that every piece of paperwork can be processed regardless of the main language. This will ensure that everything flows properly, accurately, and legally.

Biometrics Enrollment

Handling biometrics is one of the most complicated parts of applying for a visa. The CKGS spares the need of going through this process of biometrics enrollment, taking out the need for undergoing bulky processes and saving fees. It also provides great efficiency and flexibility so that everything goes as smoothly as possible.  

Financial Services

The CKGS also offers financial services for those that require them. It simplifies the administrative process, allowing quick and simple access to the needed information. Amongst other financial services, the following are also included:

• Handling of transactions
• Financial support
• Financial reconciliation and accounting

Together with the Indian Government, the CKGS provides these services so that costs are cut down – in the end, allowing the petitioner to save money.

Information Management

Information management is crucial when it comes to visa paperwork, which is why the CKGS handles these matters. This way, the client receives access to valuable information, in a format that makes it easy for them to consume.

Operations Support

To ensure that the operations go smoothly as they are processed by the Indian Government, the CKGS offers an operations support with several capabilities. The purpose of this service includes increased revenue, lower costs – and last but not least, the enhancement of loyalty from the customers.

Tourism Representation

The CKGS also represents tourism, using their experience from within the tourism field. They have access to a variety of travel networks and tourism options, which is an asset for the Indian Government and the people using their services.

Why Is CKGS’s Contract with the Indian Government Expiring?

At the end of October this year, the contract that CKGS has with the government of India will come to an end. The CKGS has given no clear reason as to why this decision was taken – we can assume it’s an after-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel/office restrictions. At the same time, it can be any other reason, such as the change of the provider.

What we know at this point is that only the applicants that have a compelling reason to travel may get in contact with the Indian Mission. By doing so, they should be able to apply for an Indian passport, Renunciation, OCI, or an Indian visa. Once the contract expires, the CKGS won’t be accepting any applications for a travel package if the person does not have a compelling reason for it.

When Will the Contract Expire?

The contract will expire on October 31st, 2020. That being said, certain operations may be terminated beforehand, a few days before the termination of the contract. Since there will be no walk-ins, the individual will have to mail in the application either online or through the postal service.

What Are the Deadlines for Submitting?

Starting with October 14^th, 5 pm EST, new applications are no longer allowed on the CKGS website. That being said, incomplete applications that require additional documentation will be returned to the applicant on the 16^th of October, 2020. It will use a prepaid envelope or a shipping payment in case the documents do not arrive before the 16^th of October, 2020.

Here are the deadlines that you need to keep in mind when you are submitting your additional documents:

• The processed documents that do not feature a return shipping payment or return shipping payment needs to be submitted at the Indian Mission/post on the morning of October 19, 2020.
• The applications or documents that do not have a return shipping label or payment or label will have to be submitted to the Indian Mission/post also by the morning of the 19^th of October, 2020.
• No new applications will be accepted through the post by CKGS starting with October 19^th, 2020. The application or mission documents that are received before the 15^th of October will be accepted as well as processed by the CKGS.

Every applicant may track the status of their application on the CKGS website. The application will already be under process at the Indian Embassy/Consulate or the CKGS even after the 31^st of October comes to pass.   

Final Thoughts

Tourism has certainly reaped a lot of benefits with the CKGS – and with the expiration of the contract, people may no longer be able to get the same advantages. They will need to have a very good reason to do that. This is why you must take advantage of the deadlines as much as you can.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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