Indian Consular Services!

richie4india

The High Commission of India wants to outsource all 'Consular Services' to an agent.

I'm wondering what people currently think of this future move with regards to obtaining a visa? All applications will be done by post via the agent.

shere

If it means replacing the current inept system with another staffed by incompetant staff then no BUT it the current thrid rate system is replaced with a proper system with similar prices then yes please.

Nick-H

Do you mean the High Commission, London? (in which case we ought to edit the thread title)?

Dosn't 'consular services' usually mean services to its own citizens, such as renewing visas, registering births, etc? Is that what they are outsourcing, or is it the visa services, or both?

I guess that stopping postal visas was probably the writing on the wall. Maybe they're having a massive cost-cutting excercise, and getting rid of a heap of people .

Shere, if you are talking about London's visa services, I think most of us have found them to be pretty good over the years. I'd say: shame to break up something that works well.

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richie4india

The lot Nick...all of it will be done through an agent chosen by the High Commission for all applications of visa and Consular Services. I couldn't change the title myself when I realised.

richie4india

LOL it isn't that bad!

shere

Please visit Birmingham CGI. The staff are openly rude and taunt people to complain to whoever they want over the tannoy system.

You go to collect a passport and they tell you to come back the next day with xyz document.

You waste a whole day (sometimes a 2 days) doing nothing.

They make up rules and requirements as they go along.

The complete system is a farce, everytime I go they mark my app with R (referral) for additional security checks against an outdated 1980s blacklist. This despite me having 7/8 previous Indian visas in the same passport.

They do treat White Anglo Saxons a bit better (LOL), I have seen PIO being turned away and told to come back the next day as the daily quota of tickets for visas has been issued. The next minute Mr Smith arrives and they issue him a ticket and welcome him as if he is their long lost brother (bollywood style).

Nick-H

Odd. I've never been to Birmingham, but London is a lot better than that.

Ritchie... we can change the thread title, but I'm still not sure if you mean London, or all UK?

It takes a lot of patience and resistance to pressure to do this work, partly because of the shere volume of it, and partly because every day will bring its quota of people who can't fill in forms, don't have a valid passport, demand a buying-property-goa visa and so on. Which is no reason to be rude to the rerst of us, and I have always found the London staff to be efficient and polite.

I don't predict good things of outsourcing it... such arrangements often involve people getting paid less, having less security, less experience and ultiamtely, caring less.

Having said that, the outsourced British visa section here in Chennai seem to work quite well, although I've heard many complaints from Indian people. Still... although they seem to be trained and qualified to advise, all decisions are taken be someone else in another building, and there is (unless you care called to interview) no direct contact between the applicant and a British consular staff member.

It could be said that India offers many examples of the down side of fully secure government jobs for life, and that the result can be far worse than my hypothesis of attitudes in the private sector.

Best to wait and see I suppose!