noni

Have send another email to Simon F. and Peter Beckingham hope to have a reply soon!!

a_f_d

Hear Hear!!!

AndyD 8-)#

noni

Well it is not for the want of trying Andy! as you know I am very trying

iain492001

Great work, Noni.

Perhaps they are more concerned about lobbying the Indian Gov't about changing the Tourist Visa rules for their same-sex partners first, as indicated in the Hindustan Times article I posted a week or so back on another thread. We ordinary mortals, many too with same sex partners, seem to be taking second place as usual, yet our tax payments contribute towards their salaries and expenses..............

Very frustrating!

noni

And the stamp duty we paid on registering our Deeds was readily accepted by the the Goan (Indian Government).

noni

Dear Noni

Thanks for your continued patience! I'm currently in London but, before leaving left a draft message with my political colleagues (who have been leading on all things visas) and hope to get a reply in the coming days. We also now have an e-mail address for people to use, though I think what you've coordinated through the forum was by far the best way for people to focus (and discuss) their concerns before passing questions on to us. In a nut shell we've been lobbying on x-visas and asking what provisions are being made for property owners etc. I have also just finished re-writing a letter from the Spanish Ambassador (in his capacity as Chair of the EU Presidency) to Home Minister Chidambaram. The same draft has also been sent to my US and some Commonwealth colleagues should they also be able to send something in to the MHA or MEA along the same lines.

If you could please bear with us just a little bit longer I'll have something for you to post on the forum (which we'll also send out via Locate).

Kind regards,

Simon


Hope Simon F. Head of Operations does not mind me putting his personal email to me on the website - just wanted you all to see that BHI are working in our interest.

a_f_d

Hurrah!!

well done noni (and Simon et al)

AndyD 8-0#

dreadsoc

Good news there Noni.
Seems that he has really taken up our plight and is calling on some other countries to back him in sorting out this mess created by the Indian Govt. Lets hope he gets somewhere.

Dread - thanks
x

Goacrazy56

Well done noni,you have managed to get a response and a positive one at that from Simon
Thanks for all your hard work and thanks to Simon
GC still fighting

iain492001

Nice work, Noni and thank you so much for keeping this impetus going.

Let's hope that Simon and his staff will be able to achieve some inroads with the Indian Gov't..............who can tell?

noni

Dear Noni,

please find below our message to the British community on your forum. I'll endeavour to keep you up to speed on any further lobbying etc. as and when it happens.

Best wishes,

Simon

It's been a month now since we all met in Goa and I wanted to bring you all up to speed on what we have been doing since then.

I've been reading with interest the various streams on the Brit Expat and IndiaMike forums. Thank you to all who have contributed to the "Bullet Point Questions for the FCO" section.. I have also been able to add to this list comments either sent to me directly or taken from the other streams. I'm also very grateful for the very useful background information a few of you have mentioned in your comments on the forum. These have helped me get a better idea of how some rules and regulations - RBI, FEMA and Visas - are being interpreted by our nationals.

To date, we have raised with the Ministry of External Affairs, both in meetings and in writing, the question of what visas those with a residence in India should apply for.

I met with my EU counterparts on 27 January and we have agreed to work together on a number of issues affecting our respective nationals, including visas (tourist, business, employment, project and x-ones). In his capacity as head of the EU Presidency, the Spanish Ambassador will shortly be writing to Home Minister Chidambaram on all these points.

As you know Joint Secretary Kishore has been appointed by the Chief Minister to review individual property cases. In preparation for this we have drawn up a draft proforma for you to complete and send to him. He is currently looking at it to see if he needs any more information to be included in the form before we post it on our website for you to download and complete. I am in touch with him about this and will let you know through this forum and via Locate as and when it is available and where the completed form needs to be sent for his attention.

Lastly, we offered to create a dedicated e-mail address where the British Community could contact us. Please use the following address which is regularly monitored and will ensure your correspondence reaches the right person within the High Commission [email protected]

I will endeavour to update you as and when we can, particularly when the High Commissioner hopes to meet with you.

Kind regards,

Simon

Simon Ferrand

On behalf of all on BE Goa - Thank you Simon.

Return of Santan

Great Stuff Noni and many thanks Simon, lets hope this gathers more momentum and media attention in the coming months and the penny ( Rupee ?) FINALLY drops with the Goan government

K-C

Goacrazy56

Well done noni and thank you
Thanks to Simon as well at last someone who is taking us seriously
GC staying positive

iain492001

Thank you, Noni, for posting Simon's reply & thank you too, Simon, for this positive action.

I unfortunately missed the last meeting due to the 2 month gap, but look forward to learning about the next meeting and to attending this.

(50% hopeful that things may change favourably soon)

Regards
Iain

noni

Hopefully the next meeting will be when most of us can attend and not to early in the Season - of course, it is going to depend on visa's.