Re: Visa help.
 

Thanks, Bipat has said the same on "Rants" thread. Had a guy call here to-day he and eleven others have booked a place in Kerela and are having problems filling in the application form - another 12 who think they will not go back to India. They did not know about the Declaration form!

Re: Visa help.
 

no the "declaration form" isn`t actually that obvious and I don`t remember it being on the list of things to remember(or whatever that list is called).
I double checked thro the site as I`d read about it on here or another forum!
many people obviously miss it as they have copies at the application centres (or at hayes) that they give out to those lacking them!!!!!

hope all goes well Noni.

Re: Visa help.
 

I have checked back on this and as far as I can see the Declaration required by HCI is on the Application form - the extra stuff on the separate Declaration Form is just arse-covering for VFS as a private company. I reckon they'd be on thin ice if they refused to forward your visa app, because you hadn't done their form.

As to re-doing your app - isn't your passport number blocked as soon as you've put an app in?

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

God knows! As you can see above you have to do a new application form. Going to leave it blank and take it with me to Visa Office on Monday.

Re: Visa help.
 

:lol:Noni Just read your post with interest as I am about to do mine next week. I know I should know this but I don't. I havn't looked at the site in quite a while as have been back in Europe 5 months now and have taken several holidays and realised there is so much more to see and visit and all without the hassle and stress of Goa. This has made me put all thoughts of Goa out of my mind ( and I feel I have succeeded, hence my uncertainty now I have to get started on the annual visa run ). So sorry for asking the obvious but: having filled in the form online and taken a print out, do you have to make an appointment with VFS to hand it in or do you just turn up? I don't want to post mine but hand it in personally? For obvious reason don't want to drive all the way there if I need to have made an appointment first. If I need a appointment how do I do it? Online too? Comments and help much appreciated.

Re: Visa help.
 

Hi, Glad you have been enjoying yourself in Europe. We don't have to make an appointment in Wales as apparently it is only a small office. On the website there is a place for you to click to make an appointment, but like paying on line, I could not access it. Oh! well at least the printer worked :sneaky: The form is exactly like it was when we did it by hand, the hardest part is finding all the forms to fill in. Don't forget the declaration form, you would think that when you printed off the visa form any other forms to sign would be printed the same time - toooooooooooo simple:blink:

Re: Visa help.
 

Thanks for the speedy reply. Will use your helpful advice you wrote a while ago about filling in the form when I get started. Think I will leave until tomorrow.

Re: Visa help.
 

I wonder if anyone has come across this before.

my husband and I have had 1 year tourist visas for the past few years. this year we posted our application to Hayes as usual and I received my visa back last thursday, however when i tracked my husbands passport on line i found this message:confused:

Application is on hold for further information from the applicant.

Additional Information:

Applicant is required to submit the Employers Letter stating the purpose and duration of Visit to India and applicant is required to submit a self declaration mentioning the reason for applying a 1 ye
Please contact our Call Centre or email team for further information

I called the call centre at .95p a minute to be told that he needed a letter from his employer to stating purpose and duration of visit, when I explaine that we run our own comapny I was told that he would need a solicitors letter?? i have written to them on headed paper but as we were ment to be flying out on 1st November I'm not sure what to do, any sugestions, has anyone else come across this before.

Re: Visa help.
 

What business is arousing the interest?

Re: Visa help.
 

Try sending an e-mail to Gaurav Marchant at Hayes and ask him to call you. He was very helpful when i had problems and replied to emails very promptly.
[email protected] I had "The application is on hold " bit but mine was applying for tourist visa before my 2 month gap was up ....not 1 of the rules but had to abide by it!

Good luck!!!

Re: Visa help.
 

Hi Powerhouse

This is actually not that uncommon - unfortunately.
It may be that for whatever reason someone at either VFS or the HC has assumed whether correctly or otherwise that your OH works in a field connected to one of the listed occupations.
It seems that Msj5 has found one of the helpful folks at VFS (helpful people at VFS being as rare as rocking horse poo !) so that is worth a try, othersie it means just getting the letter and delivering it to them - I get this crxp every year when I apply and it's a total pain in the backside.

I am rather at a loss as to the kind of professions on the 'we don't really want you list' - all of them are people in the kind of jobs where overstay would not occur, and least likely to break their laws!
I find it rather sad that India would prefer to have a drug dealing scumbag or convicted paedophile/sex offender visit their country than a law abiding copper or a war hero !!!

And before my head gets ripped off I know a number of drug dealers who got 1 year T visas, and I know for a fact that a male who served 7 years for the rape of a 14 year old girl got the same T visa !!!!

All the best with sorting it out Powerhosue - if it's any consolation, once you give them the letter, they tend to just accept it and issue the visa.

Dread - x

Re: Visa help.
 

Dread,

You won't find me ripping your head off because I know exactly what you mean. Due to taking short trips to Goa, we normally use charter flights to get to Goa & this is awful but you really can play "spot the scumbag/scroat" on those flights - on one trip my OH thought she had an empty seat next to her, only for it to be taken at the last minute by a 'female' with a deeper voice than Brian Blessed who craved a fag for just over nine hours.

H.

Re: Visa help.
 

Hem - I just love your analogies - they make me PMSL :rofl::rofl:

Seriously though - I see them on the scheduled as well. Thi is just one example of several...A couple of years ago I found myself sat next to a guy who had a 1 year T visa (and had only applied for 6 months but the nice people at VFS offered him the 1 year ) - never had a job, gets his mate to sign on every 2 weeks so he gets his JSA ("'cos anyone can do it it's a piece of pxss" - quote), then hangs around Goa all season at Buckinghams shack dealing drugs with a little Goan scumbag called Fhadinga !!!
Fhadinga being this evil personified who is currently in prison having seriously assaulted his Swedish ex girlfriend and committed numerous burglaries at numerous customers' apartments.

Bearing in mind this guy had never met me before he was hardly discreet about his dealings (excuse the pun !) ...

As you can imagine - I was not amused !!!

Dread - x

Re: Visa help.
 

This is why the UK is a lax country: how can someone with no visible/explainable source on income be allowed to book flights to stay in a foreign country for several months?

If you are a responsible employed tax paying muppet like what I is, you are at the mercy of your employer's holiday allowance as well as jumping through whatever hoops your boss puts in place before authorising the holidays that you wait all year to take at a time when no other bugger wants to be off work anyway, especially those who have ankle biters.

I love the UK but there are certain things about the place that would really hack me off it weren't for my apathy.

H.

Re: Visa help.
 

Thank you for this, I will e-mail him tomorrow. I had a look at the visa web site and this is probably my fault for not realising that tourists should only apply for 3 or 6 month visas. We have had 1 year visas for the past 4 years and I did not bother to look at the information pages. I will let you know how I get on.

Re: Visa help.
 

many people get 1-yr T visas.

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

If you want a 1 yr tourist visa you now need to enclose a letter explaining why!

I assumed you were applying for business visas!

Have sent you a PM.
J

Re: Visa help.
 

We are just lazy, it has been easier to get a 1 year visa and just go through all the application process once a year. But from now on we will have to apply for 3 months at time, no wonder tourist figures are falling.

Re: Visa help.
 

Sorry, I'm losing the plot on this one - why will you have to apply for 3 monthers, and what sort of 3-monther?

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

Sorry, according to information on the web site tourist visas are for 3 or 6 months, as we visit in November and April a six month visa will not quiet cover it so for the past few years we have applied for a 12 month visa with no problems. We used to visit in January as well but it is difficult with the 60 day restriction. So I guess that assuming we eventually get my husbands passport back, hopefully with a visa in it we would be best advised to go with the 3 month option and get 2 visas each year. This is becoming such a pain.

Re: Visa help.
 

Just put those plans in a covering letter and aply for 12 month visa (afaik in the UK 6-months is the norm; 12-month visas are fairly readily available and 3-month visas are rarer than 12-monthers, they also cost the same as 6-month so offer no advantages).

AndyD

Re: Visa help.
 

Registration with said X visa
#3406

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

My husband has received a call from Hayes this morning asking him to scan the letter we have sent as they realisethat we want to fly out on 1st November. I will let you know the outcome. Just checked the flight costs with Jet £673.00 ouch.

Re: Visa help.
 

Handed in our application visa form at Cardiff. Two in front of us (one indian) had five visa's and had made a mess of them, he held up the applicants, when we finished there were at least 20 people behind us. Lets hope that the visa comes back with no problems this year. The Visa guy was very friendly/polite, must have been a welsh born indian!

Re: Visa help.
 

For when you want to fly that`s very reasonable!Hope all goes smoothly now!

Re: Visa help.
 

Sure all will be fine for you Noni! But fingers crossed anyway!!!!!!:fingerscrossed:

Re: Visa help.
 

Which documents did you need to produce? I now have one of the new X visas. Have never registered before. OH has 2 years to run on his (old-style) visa.
We will be travelling around for first 3 weeks so I will have to think where to do it.

Re: Visa help.
 

List of documents required for Registration of Foreigners

1. 3 Registration Forms to be filled each in original.

2. 3 Passport size colour photos.

3. 1 colour Xerox copy of passport,** visa and arrival stamp.

4. Copy of leave and licence agreement between owner of house and foreigner or proof of Residence.***

<other stuff for Student, Employment, Business visas>

** i.e. photo page and visa/ arrival stamp (usually adjoining pages).

*** ironically, for this the FRO means copy of Deeds (notarisation not necessary) while the same requirement at the RTO means a copy of the Residential Permit from the FRO (imho it's the RTO who are wrong here).

cheers AndyD 8-)#

P.S. Remember that you have to go back to collect the RP, you could try the nearest FR[R]O and ask for a note saying you went and to actually register in Panaji.

P.P.S Document requirements at other offices are likely to be different!

Re: Visa help.
 

Very useful information , Andy. You will find that the FRO agrees with you about the RTO. The RTO gave us the run around a few years ago over this. We gave up in the end - there did not seem to be any way out of the loop. Anyway, would you mind, for the sake of those with Business visas who have been avoiding registration for some time now by going out every 180 days, posting the list of requirements for Business visas?

Thanks.

Re: Visa help.
 

I doubt Andy would have the full list,as if i remember correctly i think it was 32 different documents...

John

Re: Visa help.
 

Thank you Andy; we will be in Pune 2nd week so will go to the office there, will have rels. to help; and we give their address for staying and as referees anyway, presume a letter from them would do. My main concern is leaving India without problem.
Panaji probably not an option as only permanent residence now is in Karwar, and no way would OH give copy of the deeds to anyone. (Also I doubt if they have an office- no other foreigners living there that we know of).
Anyway will take plenty of photos and photocopies and see what happens. Ridiculous really as only staying 3 months this time.
B

Re: Visa help.
 

Hi John,

Andy had posted on Buyer Beware #3406:

** On the back was the list for Business visas - so glad I don't have to jump through those hoops!

I have also heard that it is "32 documents" these days so I just wondered what they were!

Re: Visa help.
 

You're right - the general list was on a half A4 page, the back happened to show half of the business list. Put it this way, if you go through back issues of HeraldO and list the all the departments accused of taking bribes then they are probably on the list. At least two departments - Excise and Tourism have been 'directed' by assorted politicians not issue NOC's to foreigners!

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

Handed Visa in Monday, back this morning 6 months multiple. :thumbsup:

Re: Visa help.
 

Excellent ! Enjoy Noni!

Re: Visa help.
 

Great Noni - where did you hand your forms in?

Hope they have same turnround time in December.

Now back in UK for 2 months.

Cheers
Iain

Re: Visa help.
 

Excellent news - see ya there in the New Year. Save me a sunbed by your pool !!;) We can do some moose hunting !!!:rofl::rofl:

Dread - x

Re: Visa help.
 

Handed them in Monday - back Saturday :thumbsup:

Re: Visa help.
 

Well after scanning a letter to Hayes explaining why my husband wanted a 1 year visa, we has an e-mail confirming that his passport was on it's way back to us. Unfortunately we were not at home so we have to wait till Monday to see if he has a visa and fir how long.

Re: Visa help.
 

Good luck, we have a month of hassle last year.:fingerscrossed: keep us posted.