Visa For Indian Visting the UK??

mercedes10 · Aug 20th, 2004, 16:46

Hey! I just wondered if anyone knows what the visa situation is for someone from India who wants to visit the UK? Is it relatively easy for an Indian to get some kind of tourist/holiday visa? Someone told me they need a certain amount of money in their bank account before they can come here. Is that true?

volga_volga · Aug 20th, 2004, 18:39

strange no Indian has replied yet. let me explain a general approach.

what is NORMALLY required from a third world country citizen visiting an EU country is evidence that (1) they have enough funds or friends to support themselves during their stay - you can write an invitation letter saying that you will provide food/accomm and that should be OK and (2) evidence that they have enough ties with their home country to come back after the trip. that may be family, work, property (they just have to explain what they do in India and may be bring a letter from employer/university)

i find UK is the easiest of the EU countries to get visas to.

UltraViolet · Aug 20th, 2004, 18:43

arent Indian people entitled to have a British passport??? those with this passport wouldnt need a visa, surely??? i might be totally wrong

volga_volga · Aug 20th, 2004, 18:48

UltraViolet, if all Indian citizens were entitled to UK passports don't you think we would have had 1 bn of Indians in the UK by now?

i would be curious to know when the British passport give-out to Indians stopped (i imagine a long time ago) and why it started in the first place...

mercedes10 · Aug 20th, 2004, 18:56

Thanks volga! As always you've been really helpful!

UltraViolet · Aug 20th, 2004, 18:59

I swear someone i know feeds me lies!! I believe them, then forget who told me and go around spouting crap here there and everywhere....I suspect the same person who told me that was the one who told me traffic lights were "advisory" not law!!

bongdongs · Aug 20th, 2004, 19:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by mercedes10

Hey! I just wondered if anyone knows what the visa situation is for someone from India who wants to visit the UK? Is it relatively easy for an Indian to get some kind of tourist/holiday visa? Someone told me they need a certain amount of money in their bank account before they can come here. Is that true?

Maybe Nepal, Bangladesh and Maldives are the only countries Indian's can travel to without visa's. I have to always remind my American boss that I need a few weeks notice to travel anywhere. Sometimes I think he is still a bit confused as to what a visa is :-)

On another note how easy/difficult is it for Europeans to get a work permit in India (to work for say 2-3 years). what is the process?

radz · Aug 20th, 2004, 19:36

To getting tourist visa you dont have anyproblems.
They give you 6months visa,you have show your hotel booking,and return ticket too. If someone is inviting then the invitaion letter ,claiming the person will take care of all expences for your stay in UK.

shere · Aug 20th, 2004, 21:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by radz

To getting tourist visa you dont have anyproblems.
They give you 6months visa,you have show your hotel booking,and return ticket too. If someone is inviting then the invitaion letter ,claiming the person will take care of all expences for your stay in UK.

Depends on the Immigration Officer at the UK visa section in Delhi.

Sometimes they can be a real pain in the behind and make up rubbish excuses to not issue a visa. Recently my cousin wanted to come over. His mother is a UK resident but still chooses to live most her time in India. His father has visited the UK and returned to India 3 times without ever overstaying. The Officer had his parents passports which clearly showed the departure stamps etc for his parents. They refused him a visa because they claimed his family had a history of migration despite the passports showing evidence contrary to this. They also did not believe his family farmed 60 acres despite him providing all the legal documents and his father having used the same documents a year before to get a visa. In the end we had to spend £1500 to hire a solicitor and make an appeal which was successful. He enjoyed his holiday in the UK and returned back to India after 6 weeks.

In my opinion most the people working at the Delhi visa section are brainless. The public sector is dominated by the stupidest people you will ever meet who get jobs because of who they know rather than what they know (Rant over)

.

radz · Aug 20th, 2004, 23:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by shere

Depends on the Immigration Officer at the UK visa section in Delhi.

Ya,it depends,the VISA application says,they have the last say without anyreason also they can reject your visa application.
My expericence i never find any problems ,as tourist visa and bussines visa.

shere · Aug 20th, 2004, 23:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by radz

Ya,it depends,the VISA application says,they have the last say without anyreason also they can reject your visa application.
My expericence i never find any problems ,as tourist visa and bussines visa.

Yes the moron who refused my cousin said point blank to him "I am not giving you a Visa - you can try again and someone else may give you a Visa". Silly buffoon, should at least give valid reasons for rejection. The work of these offices should be subject to proper audits because they are really making a mockery of the system and getting personal when issuing Visas.

Last year the BBC showed a documentary about the visa section in Ghana and the people who work there were the biggest dumbos ever. One officer refused a family a visa to attend a funeral because he claimed the fax they had given him from a funeral parlour was fake. The dumb wit refused to phone the funeral parlour. The family appealed and he again was against granting the visa, luckily his supervisor (probably the only one with brains) thought it wise to phone the funeral parlour. Turns out the family were telling the truth. Another guy who told lies and made applications under false names (the officer knew this) was granted a Visa.

Merchant · Aug 20th, 2004, 23:31

The issue is pretty complicated--immigration policy post 9/11, quotas, Commonwealth issues, asylum seekers, xenophobia. There's probably not a definitive answer to your question.

tinoo · Aug 21st, 2004, 05:19

You could just go to the British High-Commision website. They list the requirements for Indians wishing to travel to Britain.

http://www.britishhighcommission.gov...021827277 310

shere · Aug 21st, 2004, 13:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by digvijay

Hi,
For people getting the british visa for the first time there is an enquiry and it could also translate to an interview...fresh passports are difficult case for tourist visas, unless a travel agent shows them to be leaving for a certain trip as a packaged tour.
The requirements have been mentioned as earlier, however it is not on the whim and fancy of the official concerned ... of course with the kind of illegal immigration , i am not surprised at the tough measures.
The bank account , job , family etc are assessed as a means of ties the applicant has to his country. There are a lot of people who talk about the staff at the high commission, my own experiences with them have been pleasant, but i understand it differs from case to case and one officer to another. However there is always a way to appeal against decision and high handed eccentricity is certainly not the trait of those working here.
About the Ghana example, it is blacklisted for the kind of corruption that makes institutions highly amenable. You could even get the presidental assent or recommendation if yu have the money. The paranoid behaviour is explicable. I have come across quite a few illegals and have befriended quite a few of them during my sojourns ...it always seemed a game of cat and mouse and the travails were hilarious.
Using the passport of dead, mailing the passport back home when one has arrived etc etc ..
Qatar is one country where indians can geta visa on arrival another is srilanka i guess ..china and pakistan they shoot yu down ..kidding :-)
It is very easy for foreigners to get a work visa if an indian firm is sponsoring them.
Cheers
digvijay

It is on the whim and fancy of the officers. Again I repeat the example of my cousin. reasons for refusal : Your family have a history of migration (even though they had passports of his parents showing they had returned back to India without overstaying on more than one occasion). We do not believe you farm 60 acres. Funny the same papers were more than sufficient last year for his dad and now they have doubts over them. This is not an isolated example I know of countless other similar cases.

Again I repeat the people working at the Visa section in Delhi are mostly brain dead who would fail to get a job in the private sector because they lack the brains. They need to implement transparent procedures with a uniform approach.

Try getting anything done at counter 16, the staff let people jump queues and Indian diplomats are welcomed to the front of the queue even people behind them have been waiting for longer.

I suggest you read what I wrote about Ghana. The dim witt visa officer refused to call the funeral parlour. All it would have taken was one phone call. Considering the family needed to attend a funeral he should have got off his backside and undertaken simple investigation using the phone.

mridula · Sep 29th, 2007, 23:46

I would be applying for a visa to UK most probably next week. Any idea how much time they take to issue one? I always get butterflies when I apply for a visa, though till date I have never been refused one. I mean all those documents requirements sound quite complicated. And the form runs in 10 pages! I would of course share my experience once I am through.

And would it be thoroughly off topic to ask what should one do in Oxford area that would not cost me too much money, I mean they want so many rupees before they give me a pound

Aug 20th, 2004, 16:46	#1
mercedes10 Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 556	Visa For Indian Visting the UK?? Hey! I just wondered if anyone knows what the visa situation is for someone from India who wants to visit the UK? Is it relatively easy for an Indian to get some kind of tourist/holiday visa? Someone told me they need a certain amount of money in their bank account before they can come here. Is that true?

Aug 20th, 2004, 19:36	#8
radz Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: India Posts: 748	To getting tourist visa you dont have anyproblems. They give you 6months visa,you have show your hotel booking,and return ticket too. If someone is inviting then the invitaion letter ,claiming the person will take care of all expences for your stay in UK. __________________ My Photo gallery

Aug 21st, 2004, 05:19	#13
tinoo Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: New York City Posts: 18	Visas are required. You could just go to the British High-Commision website. They list the requirements for Indians wishing to travel to Britain. http://www.britishhighcommission.gov...021827277 310

Sep 29th, 2007, 23:46	#15
mridula Sair Kar Duniya Ki Galib , Jindagani Fir Kahan ... Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: India Posts: 1,251	I would be applying for a visa to UK most probably next week. Any idea how much time they take to issue one? I always get butterflies when I apply for a visa, though till date I have never been refused one. I mean all those documents requirements sound quite complicated. And the form runs in 10 pages! I would of course share my experience once I am through. And would it be thoroughly off topic to ask what should one do in Oxford area that would not cost me too much money, I mean they want so many rupees before they give me a pound __________________ mridula http://www.gonomad.com/traveltalesfromindia/ Last edited by mridula : Sep 29th, 2007 at 23:47. Reason: I should proof read once before submitting and not after!

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Aug 20th, 2004, 18:39	#2
volga_volga Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 1,460	strange no Indian has replied yet. let me explain a general approach. what is NORMALLY required from a third world country citizen visiting an EU country is evidence that (1) they have enough funds or friends to support themselves during their stay - you can write an invitation letter saying that you will provide food/accomm and that should be OK and (2) evidence that they have enough ties with their home country to come back after the trip. that may be family, work, property (they just have to explain what they do in India and may be bring a letter from employer/university) i find UK is the easiest of the EU countries to get visas to.

Aug 20th, 2004, 18:43	#3
UltraViolet Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: UK Posts: 104	arent Indian people entitled to have a British passport??? those with this passport wouldnt need a visa, surely??? i might be totally wrong

Aug 20th, 2004, 18:48	#4
volga_volga Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 1,460	UltraViolet, if all Indian citizens were entitled to UK passports don't you think we would have had 1 bn of Indians in the UK by now? i would be curious to know when the British passport give-out to Indians stopped (i imagine a long time ago) and why it started in the first place...

Aug 20th, 2004, 18:56	#5
mercedes10 Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 556	Thanks volga! As always you've been really helpful!

Aug 20th, 2004, 18:59	#6
UltraViolet Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: UK Posts: 104	I swear someone i know feeds me lies!! I believe them, then forget who told me and go around spouting crap here there and everywhere....I suspect the same person who told me that was the one who told me traffic lights were "advisory" not law!!

Aug 20th, 2004, 23:31	#12
Merchant Maha Guru Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: New York Posts: 2,079	The issue is pretty complicated--immigration policy post 9/11, quotas, Commonwealth issues, asylum seekers, xenophobia. There's probably not a definitive answer to your question.

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