Re: Visa help.
 

Thank you for that hemingway - will let you know what happens later this week - hope we are still not in UK on Friday..:fingerscrossed::fingerscrossed:

Re: Visa help.
 

Hi folks,
may I ask an urgent question: (also posted on IM) has anyone tried to get a new visa without the 1mth since last visa / 2mths since last visit restrictions being applied where the previous visa was an X (or any non T type)?
thanks - AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help IMJPORTANT
 

HI ALL
Just received a letter from M****ch warning of the 2 month tourist visa rule !
It also states that you must wait 30 days before applying for a new visa on expiry of the old visa.
This is a bit worrying as I contacted various tour companies over Christmas with ref to the ruling and none of them had heard of it ! :confused:

More rules to complicate a complicated situation.



K-C

Re: Visa help.
 

Went to travel agent in Calengute yesterday, to try to book flight home, as you know you have to give a return date - asked about the 90 day visa and he told us that at the moment it stood, we would only get 90 days next season.

Re: Visa help.
 

There is still nothing I can find on the HCI London website or the VFS Global website about 90 day visas. The VFS still says tourist visas are for 6 months or 1 year. Has there been an official notice of this which does not appear on either website

Re: Visa help IMJPORTANT
 

K-C

As the '2 month rule' only applies to tourist visas, I'd be interested to know for certain if the '30 day application rule' applies to other categories of visa. . . . . X, business, employment etc etc.

H.

Re: Visa help IMJPORTANT
 

yes, I'm still hoping that someone can answer my #162.

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help IMJPORTANT
 

Hi H,

Unfortunately I have no idea as this came from M****ch and relates only to tourist visas

It as as per usual clear as River Mandovi mud

K-C

Re: Visa help.
 

To start with – this may be long and boring if you are not involved but these are the facts we encountered yesterday on our way to Goa without the required 2 months gap. OK yes we did know about them but were travelling elsewhere and did not have the time to sort it out. Read on forums that yes they were implementing the rule or no they were not.

We left Indian towards the end of December and had a return flight booked and a one-year multiple entry visa in place for returning on 9th February. Whilst we were away this 2 month rule came into force but if we had not been on the internet whilst we were away we would not have known anything about it – no info from VFS or IHC who know who has what visas.

Jet desk yesterday after booking in on line to try and avoid any complications the girl on there just took our booking and gave us a boarding card and off we went. We are always very early so sat in departure lounge for about 4 hours then we were called to the bun fight they call getting on the plane. No row numbers just all get in line and get on. Took our boarding card and passport to the person on the desk – he looked at it and said “have you been to Indian in the last 2 months” – No OH said. We were not there in last 2 months, (Not Jan and Feb but were there in December but 2009 not 2010 must have helped). I carried on through (legged it) but it was a good 3 minutes before OH appeared behind me – he said they were checking his passport and chatting to each other but let him through.

Get to Mumbai and go through customs – everything ok – stamped passports and then as we are going away she shouts us back (s**t) and re looks at both our passports – smiles at us and says on your way. Blimey thought a 50 pound note might have to change hands at this point.
Anyway we are there and have done it – heart stops beating off the scale and we go to collect our luggage – first on last off as usual except that last off is our suppa duppa Samsonite we bought in Goa a couple of years ago with the zip bust and goodness knows what is missing – did not want to declare the Stilton and the 6 boxes of Cadburys Heroes we have brought for the kids on our complex but have to go and sort it out with Jet and had no problems they were very good and wrapped our case up in cling film and off we went to our Goa flight.

Another time we would have said sod it to all this hassle but principles come in to this and as well we had booked a holiday in Mumbai for friends in Goa who have never been before and felt sad they would miss out their holiday as we have booked and paid for it (yes msj5 it was our money) but we had the tickets in our flat. All in all it came out ok but would never ever do it again.

(On flight down to Goa OH hands me a sheet that was on the Jet desk – the rules re the 2 month issue but did not tell me about it and he removed it from the desk whilst the girl was writing in a book so that I did not see it)

Re: Visa help.
 

Whilst in Dabolim we had lots of time to wait for the taxi as the plane was early so went looking for the "returnees room" we had read about on the internet. Could not find it unless it is an unmarked cupboard. :lol:

Re: Visa help.
 

A friend left Goa on Sunday. He holds a 5 year x visa with 3 years to run. They stamped it at Mumbai with the do not return for 2 months.

Re: Visa help.
 

There was always the risk this would happen - after all the differences between a T X B etc. are minimal. Did he get the impression this was automatic, or were they in fact aware it was an X?

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

Another piece of confused media reporting, this time from Israel

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=168384

It does make it clear that our Semitic cousins consider it quite right and proper to run businesses on a tourist visa. No wonder you are all having problems....

Re: Visa help.
 

He said they studied his visa and then asked to see his resident book and then stamped the visa. So he must have been aware that it was not a tourist visa.

Re: Visa help.
 

think you`d have found it in the international terminal! not the domestic!

Re: Visa help.
 

Hi, I said I would let you all know what happened with my husbands application to come back which he submitted to the High Commission (London) on Monday before traveling north for his mothers funeral. Well he arrived back home late Thursday night hoping to find a message on the answerphone to say his passport was ready, (they said they would ring) but no such luck. Anyway, with his flight being Friday night he had no option but to travel up to the High Commission in the hope that it would be ready. Luckily it was so he carried straight on to Heathrow. I could not get him booked on the same flight as the family so the next best thing was one that left Heathrow a little earlier with a connection that got him into Dabolim about the same time so they all arive together later today.

Re: Visa help.
 

Hi All

I picked up this posting from the INDIAMIKE website

"Further to my posting of 10 Feb, Today on our return to the Indian High Commission in Birmingham (UK) we successfully got the magic stamp in our passports that allow us to return in under 2 months as per our plans & prebooked tickets from last July. They certainly didn't make it easy and they made quite sure we were aware that it was a 'concession'! Told to come back today (Friday) at 3pm we arrived a bit before 3 but were left waiting (along with a couple of other Europeans) until just before the time they 'shut' at 4.30 before being seen to. After a while it became obvious that all the applicants for OCI & PIO status were dealt with first. C'est la vie! About 4.15pm we were told that my husband's passport was done but mine was in the process of 'being done'. Was a bit hard to bite my tongue as to what they had been doing with it all week :-( When we finally got them we were given a stern warning that this was a one-off permission. Also that when our visa expires (we have one year tourist visas) in September we must leave it a full month before we can apply for another - even if we haven't been in India for well over the two month 'gap'. Ok for one year but as it will move our visas on by a month each year with soon will become problematic. Just another little regulation which they are sliding in.

Lots of luck to other travellers & hope our experience may be of use to someone. But for now... Yipppeee we go back end of February!!!! ;-)))

Does this mean that the waiting time between NEW visa applications is ONE month? I am now totally confused:confused::confused:

Can anyone advise on this please.
regards
Iain

Re: Visa help.
 

You have two separate issues here Iain,

1) Regardless of your current visa status, whenever you leave India you must stay out for 60 days, unless you subject yourself to this demeaning procedure at the Indian High Commission.
(this of course is the same IHC that following the farming out of visas to VFS was going to have absolutely nothing to do with the general public ever again)
It should also be noted that having gone to all this expense, forget the £7 per head fee, the requirement to attend in person is where the costs arise, there is still no guarantee that you will be granted permission and many are being refused.

2) The one month gap is from expiry of your current visa, until you are permitted to apply for a new one. Unsurprisingly, totally pointless, as the 60 day rule described above will kick in as soon as you leave India in advance of your visa expiring. So if you are maximising your visa time, you will be waiting as late in the 60 day period as you dare to re-apply anyway.

Even if you can get one (I did last year), a one year visa is now pointless, as you will have to leave after 180 days, stay out for 60 days, return for 120 days, leave for..........
And then the much rumoured 90 day visa limit? Just remeber how the 60 days out rule started............yes rumours and misinformation.

Administratively, India is a total farce, and deserves to be treated like the International Leper it is.

Re: Visa help.
 

Thanks for the info, Johnny Five. Guess we'll wait until March 15th before re-applying for a 6 mth Tourist (hopefully) - as you say, there is no point in having a 12 mth anymore.
I just love it when they say "do not make your travel plans until you have your visa" (or words to that effect) - of course we can ALL afford to make last minute holiday bookings and pay through the nose.............
Can envisage a dearth of tourists to India soon - there are so many other "incredible" places with far less restrictions & hassles!
Cheers
Iain

Re: Visa help.
 

You are welcome, mate!

Re: Visa help.
 

What I found strange in this article was the concept outlined by the writer that the Indian government was tightening up the Visa rules to protect their own internal labour market and ensure that their graduates can get jobs. I don't buy this at all. Why should foreigners who engage in running tourist related activities such as restaurants, bars, market stalls and entertainment be a threat to the home grown graduates. I think not!

If India believes that it is beneficial to keep out foreign workers from the many corporate hi tech groups operating here it may find that longer term these corporates move elsewhere as the Indian labour laws will become prohibitive and more complex and ultimately lead to higher costs. If this happens and another country offers better opportunities to the corporate world then what will India have achieved for their graduates? Even less opportunity than before.

Re: Visa help.
 

These people have contaminated the whole world,sorry i mean colonized and to hear words like concession, one off permission, from some jobsworth in my country makes me more than angry!!!!
jobsworth = inhuman shit brain.
One thing that confuses me unless you own property here why would anybody want to return??
By the way the wife has just gone to bed in tears after reading your recount.
DISTRAUGHT!

Re: Visa help.
 

I just love it when they say "do not make your travel plans until you have your visa" (or words to that effect) - of course we can ALL afford to make last minute holiday bookings and pay through the nose.............


We did not make our travel plans until we had our visa and then they moved the goalposts. Coach and plane tickets booked when we got the visa then find out we are not allowed back in without loads of hassle.

Re: Visa help.
 

Maybe this has been asked before but can someone please tell me when applying for a new visa does the 2 month rule mean from when you last left India or when your current visa actually runs out.
For example i left India 23rd Dec 2009,my visa actually expired Jan 10th 2010.
So can i apply for a visa on 23rd Feb or 10th March??

Re: Visa help.
 

As I read it you can apply for a visa on Feb 11th but can't travel until Feb 24th so you'd 'waste' two weeks of the visa.

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

Ok thanks very much for your help Andy...so the 2 month gap is just to stay out of India for 2 months regardless of when visa's end?

Re: Visa help.
 

Yes, the expiry date of the visa is a separate issue - you have to wait for ONE month after the expiry date of your tourist visa before applying for a new tourist visa.

As a_f_d described, there are two different 'periods' to think about if your tourist visa expires shortly after your last departure date from India. You might as well wait for TWO months after your last departure date before applying for a new tourist visa, rather than having a new tourist visa with 'time ticking by' because you cannot use the new tourist visa due to the 'stay out' two months rule. . . . . . . . . . . . .

H.

Re: Visa help.
 

Yes i understand now thanks very much H.

Re: Visa help.
 

Advice please:) What is the rule with a 3 month single entry visa? (instead of the 6 month multi-entry we always apply for and get). This Xmas my wife got a 6m multi and I got a 3m single, applying at the same time! I had a new passport this time and think this is the reason behind the 3 mth visa. Both of us also had to get letters of confirmation we were visiting India on holiday from our respective employers. We usually have two holidays a season in Goa, one Dec for 2 weeks and again March/April for 3 weeks. My present visa expires 1st March, but we left Goa on 29th Dec. As it was only a single entry visa, and can't use it again, do I have to wait a month after 1st March before applying for another visa? Are we all going to end up getting a 90 day single entry visa in future?:confused: We have booked flights to come back 11th April:fingerscrossed:

Re: Visa help.
 

I think this will mean you can't apply until the 1st April if you have to wait 1 month after you visa expires.It's tight but you could still do it if you get it in on the 1st April. As this is the end of the season you would probably get it back in 3 days if you collect it
good luck:fingerscrossed:
GC;)

Re: Visa help.
 

Hi Wilky

Last season I also had to send a letter from my employers stating that I was going on holiday to India and not doing business. Like you I had applied for the 6 month and only got 3 months, and that meant I had to change my return flight and return a week earlier than I had planned.
This year I applied and no problems whatsoever.
I think these people working in the VFS have a lottery system where they pick one in say ten applications and mess around finding ways to make it difficult, just because they enjoy pxxsing people off. Probably makes them feel a sense of power or something !

Although cutting it fine I think if you go to the actual VFS in person and both hand it in and collect it you should be able to get it renewed in time - just !

Good luck

Dread - sack the jobsworths !
x

Re: Visa help.
 

Fwiw, I think the VFS people really are just the gate keepers & the "real power" lies within the IHC or CG of Birmingham or Edinburgh.

H.

Re: Visa help.
 

I have to agree with that. The last application I handed in, for a one year visa, ellicited the predictable "you wont get that, you MUST change it to six months" response. As I repeatedly stood my ground the obnoxious haridan got angrier and ruder, until in the end she refused to speak and snatched the paperwork. Throughout I had remained a picture of pleasantness and politeness.

I feel sure that if she had been able to influence the type of visa granted she would have done. She did not and a one year was forthcoming.

I do agree with the theory of every now and then, they pick an applicant to p*ss off, but that it takes place at the IHC. I have encountered one of those jobs-warts some years back in a personal interview and they truly are foul................

Re: Visa help.
 

H now please don't you start Fwiw.
Just spoken to the guy in our block asked for a three month visa, two weeks ago and was given a 6 month multi entry with 180 days on. Where the hell do you stand.:rolleyes:

Re: Visa help.
 

Kindly note you can apply for a Tourist Visa up to 6 months. However, please note that granting a visa and visa duration remains solely at the discretion of the High Commission of India, and we have to comply by the rules and regulations set by the High Commission of India.



If you prefer to contact HCI directly kindly refer to the following link: http://hcilondon.in/officerofhci.php

Re: Visa help.
 

If you have been given special permission to return within two months you have to register with the police in Panjim within 14 days of returning. You have to go to the police station to collect three copies of a form which you have to complete (no carbon allowed) and return to the police station with three colour photocopies of your passport and visa, passport photos and proof that you are residing where you say you are. Sound familiar, these are the same forms and other paperwork that had to be produced when registering because you had entered the country on an X visa. Most of the data on the form is what was given to the HCI to get permission in the first place.

Re: Visa help.
 

and after a few visits, we got "don't bother to come until your five year visa is up":rofl::rofl: we always went as you never knew when they were going to change their minds. :thumbdown: better to have been safe than sorry.
"That's life"

Re: Visa help.
 

What will be will be keep taking the noffi noni 4 times a day:wub::rofl::rofl:

It will all change again after they realise what sort of season India has had due to these rediculous rules:rolleyes::fingerscrossed:
GC;):rofl:

Re: Visa help.
 

Let's hope so, Goacrazy56. Someone told me this had happened in the '90s and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, but way back then I was only worrying about whether I would be able to squeeze 2 x 2 week holidays into the validity of the 6 month visa - how naive of me!

Can anyone remember that?

Cheers

:unsure: but :fingerscrossed:

Iain

Re: Visa help.
 

I remember in the 70s only 3 month visa's, by post took 6 weeks but you could specify start time.:(