Applying for an Indian Visa in the UK: Your Questions and Experiences

Haylo

*shrug* Yes, ideally it would be in the UK format, but it's no big deal. This is the internet, where American date formats are far from uncommon. Besides, we are only talking about a page showing the date the application is submitted, and its progress. In most cases, that is a two day process, so it could be argued that losing track of the month would perhaps be less than probable.

How many people? None. You do NOT have to complete the form in dd/mm/yyyy format, this is only the tracking page.

On the form, there is one drop down picklist from which you select a date numbered from 1 to 31, another from which you pick the month from JAN to DEC and a field to enter the year.

Perhaps anyone who has trouble working out what "6/24/2008" means, when it is immediately below a heading saying "Date DD/MM/YYYY", should avoid the more complicated stuff like the trains!

bodas73

I see that there are a few others that have entered into the random minefield known as VFS global Myself and my partner laura are flying out to India end of July/start of Aug and have had to use VFS, Laura applied online on Monday 23/06/08 she entered her and my details and went to submit payment and the site crashed and gave her no web ref number, i then tried and was allowed to enter my detail but not Laura's as it stated that the passport was in process, no probs I though I wil just go back and submit my application as I hit back the site crashed on me again without giving me a ref number. i tried to reapply and the site said both our passports were in process. We have tried calling and emailing the VFS office in Birmingham but got no response, so we bit the bullet and sent postal applications off, we have had no contact from VFS since Monday and therefore today I contacted the HCI in Birmingham via e-mail at first they directed me back to VFS helpline but I politey pointed out that this was a non starter as many of you will testify, basically i got a call about 20 mins ago from a consulate worker who was very helpful and assured me that my postal application would be fine and not to worry about VFS online service, he stated that he personally would call me back if there were any problems with my application when it arrived from VFS either postal or online and that it would be with me in plenty of time for our trip.

so i would suggest that if you are experiencing issues with VFS and I pressume many are the Birmingham HCI will help you with your queries, the sad thing is that the cost seems to have gone up but the service provides by VFS is at best extremely poor, I will let everyone know of any further issues or successes but roll on Kochin on the 06th of Aug

Nick-H

The cost of the visa remains the same, but the applicant pays VFS's fee for processing the application.

Does it cause anybody else to think about the three spaceships abandoning a doomed planet, two of them full of useful individuals, and one of them full of all those middlemen who were sent to ....well, it doesn't matter because nobody needed them.

Stuff like websites that crash is completely and utterly unforgivable --- but there's nothing that can be done; the applicants don't employ them, the HCI does. The applicants just pay.

I cannot be too scathing about this sort of setup not working 100% perfect, from minute one, let alone day one.

bodas73

The frustrating thing is the lack of support of a system that is quite clearly still bedding in, its unforgivable not to reply to customers mail and not answer your helpline number, it dont help that the website is not a really well designed one and is quite complicated to navigate even for someone who uses the web a lot never mind someone who does not access the internet a great deal. Im sure things will settle down eventually with this site but unless complaints are logged nothing will change, I will wait until I get my visas and send a letter to the complaints dept for VFS, I wonder if I will get a reply I think that a bedding in period should have been established with the HCI so that the transition to online applications was far better.

patti123

What i am worried about is its only June and not so many visas are being issued at this time of year, what happens in Nov/Dec if they cant cope now ?

I really dont mind paying the agency cash to get it but not if you have to jump through hoops and you dont know when you going to get your visa back.

Maybe by Nov they might have sorted the web site out then and it will all be working ok.

Oh look pigs are flying outside my window !

Graeme

I've been to India three times within the last five years, each time using the Birmingham High Commission. I will be doing the same again this year, but this time around, will (hopefully!), be glad to use the new system. Frankly, I've hated each and every application and still have no idea why something so fundamentally simple should be such an awkward procedure, especially as it's nothing but a money-grab anyway!

The first time, I was taken by an Indian friend of mine who felt obligated to apologise for the "typical Indian service and bad manners", that I was about to encounter. Actually, whilst the mechanics of the operation were poor, personally, I have never encountered bad manners from the staff. Each visit got worse. During my last (2006), I swore I'd never do it again. Although I'm one of the fortunate ones in that I live nearby (never thought it was reasonable that folks had to travel from Wales), no matter how early I arrived, there were never any tickets and that's just to submit your application! You get there, and if you aren't forewarned, could find yourself in the wrong queue (the signs were inevitably covered by a mass of people), otherwise, somebody usually takes pity on you when they see your distress, gives you one of their 20 tickets that for reasons un
known only to themselves they grabbed when they first walked in, you then have the pleasure of working out where the back of the queue is AKA The Snake - then have to wait for a couple of hours, all the time watching the LED screen increase towards your number. The only amusing consolation is that as the minutes progress, kind individuals give you hope by giving their 'spare' tickets (I have literally saved hours by gracefully receiving these!). Once you get the counter, the process takes five minutes, before being informed to come back after lunch to start queuing all over again....So back again, having put another few quid into the parking machine, and enjoying the queue to collect your passport. That said, I have met some great people, with interesting stories, although I do feel sorry for Indians who have to do this (the idea that I would have to get a visa to enter 'my country' would infuriate me). Anyway, I said I'd give a month's notice next time via the postal application. I didn't use it last year, although I heard the affluent Jewellery Quarter complained collectively due to folks waiting outside in the streets, leaving breakfast rubbish and relieving themselves, but frankly, it was backwards and disorganised, and were it not for my love of India, I wouldn't have gone a second time. I might eat my words, but I initially welcome this new system...

...having said that, one mate has posted this link, giving me wonderful confidence that my personal details will be kept confidential...

check out which company was behind this story:
http://www.channel4.com/news/article...ty+flaw/517157

regards,
Vinod



Exclusive: a security flaw in internet visa applications to the British High Commission in India means the details of 50,000 people may have been available online.
It was a potential treasure trove for identity thieves and terrorists.

The personal details of thousands of people wanting to travel to the UK - online, unsecured and available to anyone who simply altered a website address.
Four hundred and seventy thousand Indians applied for visas to come to Britain last year. Not all applied online - but nearly 50,000 did, including Sanjib Mitra from Bangalore.

In April last year he had trouble with his application and in trying to sort things out discovered he could access all the other applications that had been made online.
Visa processing in India has been contracted out by the Foreign Office to a private Indian company, VFS Global.

In a blog last week Sanjib Mitra revealed how he had checked and found the loophole was still there. He says he emailed the company last year - and heard nothing. And he emailed the British High Commission, who two months later replied that they would look into it.

Concerned, he alerted specialist computer security journalist Davey Winder who investigated the breach. Having determined the information was still vulnerable, and succeeded in getting VFS Global to secure the database, Winder contacted Channel 4 News.

Indian online visa applications have now been suspended. And we can reveal the security breach is widening - online applications from Russia and Nigeria, run by the same company, have been suspended too.
It is the sheer scale of this security that is staggering: it dwarfs the MTAS computer scandal.
The Foreign Office, which in February awarded VFS a five year contract worth £190 million for visa processing, told us -

"This VFS system is used only to record the details of visa applicants applying online through VFS, and to allow those applicants to see how long it will take to have their passport returned. It is not connected to the secure UK government information system used to process the applications."

And because data privacy may have been compromised, the Information Commissioner is to investigate.

No-one knows if anyone has stolen the personal data that was so freely available.
VFS told us they were working hard to secure their systems - they process visa applications for entry to 14 countries, but the UK is their biggest customer.

It is the sheer scale of this security that is staggering: it dwarfs the MTAS computer scandal.

The online system has been running since 2003 and is known to have been compromised for at least a year with tens of thousands of personal details up for grabs.



.... and another mate who is flying out next month has sent me an email of his experiences todate, along with an interesting bit of news; I'm thinking of saving my kids this hassle as well as any price increases. Anyone shed any light on it?....





Hi Graeme,
how are you, hope you are well and the family. I have applied online, basically you've got to fill in the old form.
Then follow offline process of print the form and take it with 2 passport photos and the fees. Online fee is not working yet.
This is typical of government setup, portrays a poor image. I will be there queuing tommorow.

By the way I heard that anybody who has ancestral roots to India e.g parent have Indian nationality can have life visa for £200, this will be good for Kalpana.
Once I get the details I will let you have. BY the way goras can not qualify for this option and even if grandparents were born in colonial India

Regards,
Jetha

Haylo

Me too, I am still awaiting a response to an email I sent over two weeks ago, in the end I applied without waiting for a response. Frankly, it is a disgrace.

Thanks, that is really good to know.

I think you might have been clicking through the pages just a bit too fast, the site does give you a web reference number. It is on the confirmation page you get when you have submitted your application. It definitely comes before the payment option, thanks to Caz_a's most helpful post, I was fortunate enough to know that facility was not yet available so chose to take cash instead.

To help others spot it, I've attached a cropped and slightly blurry copy of the screenshot I took of mine.

Attached Thumbnails

 

Nick-H

0930?

Pretty damned clever bit of programming to get a picture of the Houses of Parliament Clock to display the reference!

Graeme... OK. so VFS is not nearly as good as I thought in the rest of the world.

By the way, if you didn't know already, the 'Life Visa' scheme your friend mentions is the OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) scheme.

Haylo

Checked online tracking for first time today at 1100hrs, and got the following message:

Less than 48 hours!

Will update with into about how easy (or not) it is to collect.

Graeme

Thanks Nick. Will check it out.

mandycc

The annoying thing is that currently they are are only accepting payment by Bankers Draft or Postal order...so I had to pay another £7.50 on top for that.

Haylo

Visited the Birmingham VFS office today, didn't have to make an apppointment, but on arrival I was given a numbered ticket. This ticket told me I was 6th in the line.

After waiting just over five minutes, my number came up and I was handed my passport complete with its shiny new visa.

They needed to keep my reciept, which is why I had been instructed to take a photocopy, so if the public use photocopier at their office is out of order don't worry about not having a copy of your receipt.

Somewhat irrelevantly, as it is only a six month visa, it is stamped "Maximum stay 180 days"

Most annoying.

As I chose to deliver mine by hand, I was able to give them cash. This got me a visa in under 48 hours, so I definitely recommend that option!

P.S. Watch out Delhi, here I come!

dzibead

Congratulations, Haylo!

caz_a

WOO HOO!!!

i sent off my visa application wednesday last week (18th) and i have it already!
it actually came on thursday but i was out so the postman couldn't deliver it... but basically it took VFS only 5 working days to process it.
i am impressed seeing as i was expecting it to take 15 working days plus!

i'm so relieved!

patti123

caz_a thats excellent news . Looks like they nearly have it up and running properly now.
Thanks for letting us all know.