Canadian abroad - where to get visa for India?

hellogoodbye

Hi there,

I will be leaving Canada by mid-September and plan on teaching English abroad for awhile (destination unknown). For the period (currently unknown) that I will be away from home, I will be using Glasgow, Scotland or Manchester, England as sort of a base for my travels (depending on where my friend decides to settle).
{I know, there are a lot of unknowns to my plan - hopefully, it will all get sorted out soon}

Before I return home to Canada, I MUST travel to India again.

Where can a Canadian passport holder get a tourist visa to India abroad? with as little hassle, the better. Does not have to be in Scotland or England.

I've read the thread on VFS-UK and couldn't figure out if there is an option for non-citizens to apply and the mess that it is doesn't seem desirable either.

edwardseco

I have heard about the outsourcing at quite a few places so I don't think it is only in the UK..

nycank

You would have to apply at the consulate/high commission that has juridiction over unknown( ) since that is where you would be teaching and would claim to be a resident of since unknown days ( )

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bade bhaisaheb is outsourced

Haylo

You can get a visa in England or Scotland with zero hassle, even by post, as long as you read the instructions on the website.

Really? I posted full details of this, including links to the relevant site and forms and fees on my Post #2236 only two days ago...

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The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful - E.E. Cummings, poet (1894-1962)

hellogoodbye

Yes, after 2 consecutive overnight shifts and still up at 2am on the third night, all the posts become jumbled and eerily similar in their seemingly negative attitude towards the application process . This probably fueled my tendency to react before I really should, hence the posted question before reaching page 150 . Thanks for pointing out the very obvious - I should start reading a looong thread from the end. Not from the beginning

I will now pick up where I left off at pg 50. It seemed like I was further along in my reading - must've been the wine

I also wanted to know other peoples experiences dealing with Indian consulates and visa applications in other parts of the world.

edwardseco

The San Fransisco consulate is great with one minor quibble. Its better than the US passport service for sure and a million times better than the INS..

Haylo

Oh dear, that must have been rather a marathon, and I'm not surprised you were put off; in the beginning there were a lot of teething problems, but VFS have really got their act together now, and their redesigned website gives most of the required information.

If you ever manage to plough through to the latest threads (or "cheat" and read only the last ten pages or so) you'll see quite a few posts from people saying how easy they'd found it.

You'll also see a trend towards more of the later queries being along the lines of "I got xyz wrong, what do I do now?" rather than "Aaaargh! The website's rubbish, how do I get a visa!!!"

somu96

If you could pin down - when you will be visiting India - it would better if you got your travel visa to India in Canada before you left in September.

Haylo

That's a point, if you're a Canadian national, why not take all the stress out of this and for a one year, or even a five year tourist visa.

Bear in mind the service has very recently been outsourced to VFS; based on the UK's experience of this (which hopefully they learned from), expect teething troubles and that your application could take a little longer than you expect.

They're not so busy this time of year, but that will change by September.

somu96

I agree with Haylo - I'm in a similar situation - visiting UK in September and then off to India (dates are all known) - submitting visa paperwork next week.

Haylo

If you're only going for a six month visa, do remember that they're valid from the date of issue, not the date you say you're travelling.

Most people do realise that, but there are always a few who get caught out.

bobm987

I'm a Canadian living in Houston right now, and I can get my India visa through the embassy here (outsourced, of course)