Holiday Visa's from UK

patti123

ColinT So you are going to have to queue from very early in the morning now ! I hope after all that you get one.
Good luck

ColinT

Yes I know Patti. Part of me says to hell with it, go somewhere else. But I've still got time to think it over.

patti123

Take a photo copy of your ticket with the date on it.I have a friend that said he will go and sit on the pavement to get my visa ,but lets see what he says when its freezing cold in Dec.

colin c

if your there on the 25th save me a spot , or if your after me bring coffee , planning on 5,30
and this could be the last time i go to india if they are going to play silly buggers .
colin

Nick-H

It may not be freezing, but its pretty chilly in London already, especially if you have to stay in the same place.

Don't envy you guys --- but wish you every success

__________________
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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

patti123

New message on the Indian High Commission web page . Looks promising for me as i dont need a Visa till Feb,but you poor souls who need a visa for Nov it doesnt look like the changes if any will happen in time .

http://www.hcilondon.net/visa/visa-issues.html


We have discontinued the practice of receiving visa applications since July 2007 anticipating problems with Royal Mail. As a result of the recent postal strike, the Royal Mail has "significant" volume of mail lying undelivered. We have, therefore, saved visa applicants the apprehension and worry about their passports getting lost/misplaced/delayed in postal transit. We are constantly reviewing this situation with a view to restoring the postal application service for visas as soon as feasible.

Nick-H

it's kind-of promising, at least they might re-introduce the postal service --- but there is a lot of smoke screen there too.

Dilliwala

A valiant defence. But u didn't say it, therefore it's not incumbent on u to put up a defence either. And if one reads the posts leading upto our man's remark, and then reads his, there's not a lot of room for interpretation. I'll let it go at that.

Well, I must say I'm impressed by British efficiency - even humiliation is delivered quickly and efficiently.

I didn't talk about delays (yes, I know what u were trying to say re 24 hrs in Chennai), I talked about requirements for Indians in general. And Britain has its own requirements - I'll just add that they don't reciprocate Indian requirements of Brits. And no, I'm not getting into a detailed discussion about the whys and wheretofores, altho others are free to do so and well might.

3000 visas a day and that's just one Indian mission out of 150 world-wide, is hardly what I'd call not turning up. I'll bet anything that no foreign govt is doing that in India in a day, ALL its missions combined. Maybe the hoteliers have another problem on their hands - about where to put all these people.

Now that I hope certainly does NOT happen, that wud be really stupid. Altho I think we've got past that stage, but if it does I'll certainly add my name to a petition (AGAINST the move, just to be clear ).

And re calming down, as echoed by ColinT:

I see. It's OK for Brits to have a whinge when they don't like something, i.e., NOT calm down, but not for me. What's that saying about "different strokes for...."?
Thanks to patti for providing the HCI link. I'd like to quote only 2 sentences:

"d) As per 'General Information' printed on the reverse of the visa application form, applicants are required to finalise their travel arrangements only AFTER ascertaining visa requirements and obtaining an appropriate visa. Unfortunately MANY applicants purchase tickets BEFORE obtaining a visa and THEN COMPLAIN that they would miss their flights if they did not get a visa. While we do take care to ensure that those who are travelling within the next twenty-four hours and have confirmed tickets are provided emergency visas, purchasing tickets BEFORE getting a visa is INCORRECT and clearly mentioned in the instructions for the visa applicants." (Note: Capitalisation mine.)

Way to go, Ambassador!

So, many applicants are clearly too stupid or too uncaring to read the application guidelines correctly and act accordingly.

And then whinge (including here).

And yet, the HCI is nice enuff to still try and issue visas for those who want to fly in the next 24 hours.

And BTW, it has been whined about that they stopped accepting applications by post. Which they've explained too.
To which I'll just add: I'm surprised the Royal Mail strike has not been blamed on them as well.

Anyway, that's all I have to say on this subject and I will not be taking part any more in this thread. I will however do folks the basic courtesy of reading any comments they have in response to mine.

And Nick, espesh since folks listen to u on immigration matters and read your writings, I'll suggest u make HCI London's text a sticky, for a while at least.

Nick-H

All moderators are members too, and entitled to post just as any other member would be (and subject to being pulled up by another mod). That leaves me free to jump in to a controversy with both feet if it is one of those that prompt me thus.

However, except on those occasions, it really is a moderator's job to keep the peace around here, and for that reason, it was incumbent on me.

The so-called reciprocity basis of visas between UK and India stops at "visas for tourists are available".

For the majority of applicants, an Indian tourist visa is a rubber-stamp job: a UK visa requires very much more than that

But, once again --- this is not the point of the thread. The point of the thread is that, due to the HCI's failure to maintain its normally high standards people are suffering.

That's all.

chezndave

Just caught up on this thread - am keeping a close eye on visa proceedings as planning a trip in April 2008.

I just wondered is it me or what but is dilliwala implying that we are lacking intelligence by getting our flight tickets before our visa - personally I would have thought that the majority of independent travellers would have been planning their trip for some time (as we have) and that as the visa is valid from the date of issue, if you are planning a long trip I would have thought most would leave it as long as poss to apply. I know someone who has friends in the south and likes to visit for 6 months at a time and so applying for a visa 2 or 3 months in advance is not an option.

Also don’t most book there flights many months in advance - we booked ours as soon as the 10 month limit came up and a lot of the seats on the flight where already booked.

I hope that the HCI get there act together and sort out the visa fiasco - sooner rather than later as I am sure that as well as tourists been hit by the fiasco it must be worrying times for those in India who rely on the tourist trade to make a living.

There, got that of me chest.

Cheryl

colin c

my turn to whinge
ok i under stand that we should be grateful to be allowed into india , but lets not forget the amount of money we are talking here
if you take it each visa is 30 quid , times that by 2000 , which is what they are saying per day , times that by 250 working days a year , amazing amount yeah , ok then put in an average of 250 quid a person that they spend in india , and that would be a low average , long term visitors like me its nearer 2000 pound and the figure starts to look astounding .
now if india doesnt want tourists why do they advertise so much , i spend a lot of time in turkey so watch bbc prime etc , which is different to the bbc in the uk and does advertise , and believe me india is one of the biggest advertisers .
so my point is does the left hand not know what the right is doing , on one hand they are advertising for tourists but on the other seem to be making things more difficult to get there .
i love india in every way but i am getting to old to stand in ques for hours at ungodly hours , and i need my passport all the time so cant apply any other way but in person .
and im sure that if this situation continues i wont be the only person looking for other places to visit .
especially when other counries like malaysia are so willing to make it easy for us older ones
but i do love india so , and so does my family
colin

patti123

long term visitors like me its nearer 2000 pound.

I spend much more than that on a 3 -4 month stay and i know a lot of 2 weekers that take £500 - £1000 for 2 weeks stay and manage to spend over £500 in those 2 weeks .

I booked my flight 2 months ago to go to Mumbai in Feb 08,if i left it till i got my visa there wouldnt have been a flight at the time i wanted or with the Airline i prefer .

ColinT

Dilliwalla is of course totally correct when he talks of the terrible way by which many Indians are treated by British officialdom. But should we Brits just accept the rapid deterioration in the visa processing service by the Indian authorities (and the incompetency therein) in the UK by saying that we deserve it (or we shouldn’t complain) because the British authorities treat applicants for British visas so poorly?

The UK has its immigration policies, which we may agree with or may find discriminatory (and the UK certainly does not reciprocate for Indian people what the Indian immigration authorities provide for Brits), and the Indian authorities have their policies towards tourist visas. The point is that the Indian authorities seem unable to implement the processes required to carry out their own stated goals, policies and objectives, and it seems incredible that a very good service has become a very poor one in a matter of weeks. Clearly someone somewhere has taken a decision to change the procedures and this has had disastrous effects. That is why we come on to IM to complain (whine).

There are more points I would have liked to have raised but chezndave and colinc have covered them.

Dilliwala

Have to break my promise of staying out (maybe I have a career as a politician?), but only to say that I have read all your views and acknowledge them (and your rights to hold them), even though I still disagree with a number of them.

Yes, everyone's free to complain on IM. Including me.

Nick,
Keeping the peace - no problem there.
Putting up a defence for another member, i.e. deciphering the TRUE meaning of his words - his job!

Cheers to all.

richie4india

I managed to get my visa before it all went mad. THANK god!