UK tourist visa 1 year or more...How long is that?

I see on a India uk visa website it states a Indian tourist visa for over one year costs £90,but it just says longer than one year...how long is that,what is the longest tourist visa you can get? (i'm well aware of the 180 day limit)

The normal tourist visa issued in the UK is for 6 months, however there have been recent posts stating that HCI in London has sometimes issued 12 month visas.

I haven't heard of anyone in the UK getting a longer tourist visa than this.

Recent posts seem to indicate that if you try for more than 6 months you're wasting your money. You'll most likely get a 6 month visa and there's no refund on the additional fees for a longer visa.

You mean if i apply for a one year visa for £60 they might reject it so i might as well pay for a 6 month visa at £30?

What reason would they reject the over 6 month visa if i sent the correct visa fees?I understand i can only stay 6 months at one time anyway with 1 year or more visa but thats not a big problem as i can just hop over a border and come back after few days.

I applied in person last week and asked if I they were issuing 12 month visas at present. The answer was a polite but firm 'No'.

I guess that since VFS is getting a fee for each visa application they have a vested interest in making sure visas are issued for as short a period as possible......

If they refuse the longer visa, they will give you no explanation as to why and they will keep whatever fees you have submitted.

What about in.vfsglobal.co.uk? (the website is down now annoyingly or else you could see for yourself)

It lists 6month,1 year(max 180 days) and over 1 year(max 180 days in any one visit). They wouldn't list it if they didn't issue them??

No they wouldn't, but it seems that currently you don't have much chance of getting a visa for longer than 6 months, and a good chance of losing any additional fees if you apply for a longer visa.

Welcome to Indian bureaucracy.

I'm sure it can't be as bad as Israeli's Bureaucracy...anyway...well as long as i have the required documents then what reason would they have for not giving me more than 6 months?I mean do they think you need a special to get more than 6 months?

My experience with Israel visa is that if your not Jewish you ain't getting an extension on your visa,but this is India not Israel lol

That is a good point you make that they don't refund you but they don't give you a reason as to why they might not give me a year visa,which is really only two 6 month visa's.

I'm just trying to think how they think at the visa office,ok so they see i asked for 1 year visa,i have the passport,photos,visa fees ect it all asks for,but he/she would only want to give me a 6 month visa....because?To make my life more difficult and expensive and i'd have to buy another 6 month tourist visa separate somewhere else..Or maybe i'd take the risk,if i lose £30 i lose £30 i guess

The price quoted for over one year does not apply to "Ordinary" Brits wanting tourist visas, many people only get a six month visa, though some people have been successful in applying for a one year tourist visa.

Tourist visas of 5 year duration are only available for applicants with Indian ancestry.

People of other nationalities applying in the UK, such as Americans who can get 10 year visas if they apply in the US, may also be given longer than one year visas but I'm not sure about that.

We seem to be covering old ground here.

Your questions will probably answered in this thread.

http://www.indiamike.com/india/india...iences-t64562/

You answered your own question. India is trying to cut out 'long-term' tourism.

Well quite. But they do. The one-year tourist visa has long been available, but (pre-VFS days) they used to stipulate that it was for members of the travel trade who had good reason to make regular visits.

Frankly, with the VFS outsourcing, and unpublished changes in policy on stuff like 'X' visas, India has decided to join the club of those countries who make getting a visa just damned awkward.