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

the irish indian

I also notice they are offering 1year and More than one year Tourist visas albeit with the 180 day max stay restriction. I don't see any 5 year x visas on offer only 'entry' and the 180 max stay restriction seems to be appicable to all visas except student and employment. The 180 day max stay restriction also applies to the Business Visas.

See Link,
http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk/visafees.aspx

Also noticed that Russian Nationals will be charged an additional 30.00 GBP on top of the visa fee.
American Nationals an additional 15.00
and wait for this one, Slovak Nationals will have to provide a refundable deposit of 700GBP by bank draft along with their visa fee.Does anyone know why this is?

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The_Londoner

Wow, just reading up on the company on their website.. Very impressive, it seems they handle 70% of UK Visa.. That is impressive.

I'm guessing PIO and OCI will still be handled by the Indian Government as these are more of a citizenship process than a Visa application. Am I not right in assuming that these PIO/OCI applications actually are processed in India and not by an Indian Embassy abroad?

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Nick-H

Not necessarily. Clear-cut PIO cases are dealt with locally. I inferred this from the "refer to Delhi?" or some-such on the application form! And they can be very quick with a straightforward application, eg a guy with his old Indian passport in his hand.

I don't know about OCI, because I'll never qualify for it. Maybe the same. It is more streamlined, I think, with on-line status monitoring and such.

VFS only push paper, even for tourist visas. The decision is made by consular staff, not VFS.

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graham1988

does anyone know will this affect my visa?
i payed a bit extra for a company to do all the leg work for me so i dont have to go to london myself i just send them my passport and photo's etc... and i get visa in 5 days cost a bit more but worth it. Now that it is being done in a different place will it take longer or will i need to fill out any more forms? i sent it off on saturday but they wont start to process it till tuesday as it is bank holiday

Haylo

Interesting... They list fees for a "More than 1 year tourist visa"

My partner is going to be in India for two years, so ideally a I'd like a 2 year tourist visa for visiting him. Unfortunately, I cannot find anywhere on that website that gives a maximum length for a tourist visa.

Can anyone throw any light on this?

machadinha

No idea how this works in UK and for UK citizens; what they expressly state though is at 90 quid.

http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk/visafees.aspx

This is in concordance with the general information about tourist visas (180 days max.); the possibilities to renew it or get a new one immediately after that then seem to be a matter of eternal debate. While this was never a big deal until fairly recent times, reports of late (say over the past few years) haven't seemed favorable; the details of those prolonged visas for a very few nationalities escape me though, and it doesn't apply to my nationality (it doesn't to most).

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The_Londoner

That maximum term used to be 5 years, and I assume that hasn't changed. May be it has left blank to introduce 10 year visa as per US citizen.

Cheap 'n' Best

I was under the impression, and have been told by consulate officials in the past, that for a UK citizen the maximum time for a tourist visa is six months.

Have you managed to get a five year tourist visa Londoner ?

The_Londoner

Opps, sorry.. Just want to make it clear.. Five year multi-entry visa were available for people of Indian origin..

May be with this outsourcing they may have decided to introduce this long-term visa to all travelling to India, thus introducing "More than 1 year tourist visa..." on their website.

Cheap 'n' Best

That would be fantastic. I tried to send an enquiry regarding this to the helpline this morning but the mail kept bouncing back to me. Maybe it will be up and running in a few days ?

The_Londoner

I think VFS officially takes over this service beginning of June..

Nick-H

Long=term tourist visas have, in the past, been available only to members of the travel industry who make frequent trips to India.

the irish indian

Recently FNs in the UK who had previously held a 5 year x visa are now being issued with a 2 year tourist visa some with and some without the 180 day max restriction.

Those who held a 2 year x visa now seem to be getting a one year tourist visa again some with and without the 180 day thingy.

I think one and two year tourist visas will become more common in place of the old 5 year x but alas i beleive they will all end up with the 180 day max stay restriction to combat the FN property purchase/residency loophole of bygone days.

Haylo

I am wondering whether the "More than 1 year tourist visa / max 180 days" fees are listed for the benefit of non UK citizens (eg Americans) who are able to get longer tourist visas, and who are applying for a visa using the VFS service while they are living in the UK.

The Indian High Commission website still states that the maximum length of a UK citizen's tourist visa is 6 months, but if that has changed I'll be very happy about it.

the irish indian

Yes the whole thing is very confusing but i think their main aim is to tighten up on visa rules to make it impossible for FNs to obtain residency for the sole purpose of purchasing property in places like Goa. The 180 day max stay rule certainly makes this very difficult and offers more protection against property investors and landgrabbers.....but thats just my thought on the matter and I dont really know for sure.