A BRADFORD voluntary group is hoping to make life easier for members of the district's Indian community by offering free advice on how to complete vital paperwork for visas and passports.

The Indian Workers' Association (IWA), based on Leeds Road, is to host drop-in sessions after its members raised concerns they were struggling to complete forms online.

The project has been praised by the group's local MP, Imran Hussain, who said the new initiative showed the "strength of the voluntary sector."

Members of the association will be on-hand to offer guidance on how to complete passport applications, and the paperwork needed for an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) visa, a multiple entry visa that enables the holder to have unlimited travel and stay in India.

Raghvir Sangha, general secretary of the association, said he hoped the new service would benefit hundreds of people within Indian communities across the district.

"The Indian Embassy has outsourced services to a private company whereby the applications can only be completed online," he said.

"Navigating online services can be difficult, particularly for some elders in the Indian community.

"People were trying to fill the forms in and it was taking hours, so they just gave up.

"We hope this new service will help alleviate the problem."

According to the website of the High Commission of India, the "outsourcing of visa, OCI, passport and select consular services" was given to a company called VFS Global in March.

The Bradford office is said to be located on North Parade in the city centre, but does not accept applications by post.

Mr Sangha said the new service was not restricted to members of the IWA, with anyone struggling to complete the forms welcome to attend.

Imran Hussain, Labour MP for Bradford East, visited the IWA yesterday to help promote the scheme.

"This is a community-based initiative borne out of changes to the visa and online applications, whereby the Indian Embassy has moved wholly to an online set-up," he said.

"What the association is saying is that the elders members of the community struggled with that, so they've set this up to help anyone who may need assistance to fill in the forms.

"This shows the strength of the voluntary sector, and although this is a small project, it's a start.

"It shows it's not always about massive amounts of money, it's about people coming together and giving their time to benefit the local community, which is very positive."

A new computer terminal dedicated to processing the applications has been donated by Sarbant Singh Dosanjh, one of the association's members.

The group is one of two parties which claims to be the official branch of the IWA, part of a bitter dispute over membership that dates back nearly 14 years.

Jagtar Sahota, who describes himself as an original trustee of the association, led a breakaway group in 2001 over what he perceived to be a failure to hold the correct official meetings.

Earlier this year, Mr Sangha denied Mr Sahota's claims, claiming he had not been involved in the management of the original association since leaving in that year.

For more information on the drop-in sessions, call 01274 664652.