Utterly ridiculous!!!!


Perhaps you do need to visit HCI and put your case in front of them.
The "2 month out rule" only applies to tourist visa. Going from employment to tourist should not be included in this rule.

I don`t know who you`ve been dealing with but might be worth contacting this guy; Gaurav Marchant
[email protected] .He was giving me totally different info to the other helpline email address and did actually call me!

Good Luck !!!

How did you manage that? - afaik it's virtually impossible to speak to anyone fron the Indian High Commission since VFS were given the job.

AndyD 8-)#

To slightly paraphrase what afd said, you have not been refused by the Embassy/High Commission/Consulate (call a bag of monkeys what you wish), you have been given a load of bull-sh*t by VFS, who have NO RIGHT TO REFUSE ANYTHING!!!!!
They are simply the oily rag, and dont even get close to being mechanics!

I stand by everything I said in the earlier post, because IT IS FACT.

If you choose to accept this inaccurate brush off from a bunch of pencil pushers, then fine.

I will not have time till Sunday, but will provide you with the links that you can print off and take back to the @rseholes at VFS and shove under their noses to PROVE you do not have to wait 2 months..............


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Thanks J5 it is good that people who have info will help others on this site.

Wishing you all the best Kernow - don't let the B....... get you down.

You simply walk through the door and join the many Brits who are there applying for their PIO status. The Consul (at Edinburgh, anyway) is generally very friendly and helpful/sympathetic to difficulties. Hope your particular Consul is likewise. That is where you should take your applications.

The Consul, not VFS, has the power to grant or refuse the issue of visas.

That's interesting, last time I went to CGI Birmingham you were checked at the door to see that you had 'business' to be there - I had to be vouched for by a VFS employee. The CGI Edinburgh website also says in Big Print that you must apply in person to VFS.
More importantly for OP it also says:
As per the Government of India regulations there should be a 2 months gap from your last exit from India on a Tourist Visa.

For more information click here http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/FAQ-TVisa280710.pdf
There really shouldn't be any argument - the 2-month rule only applies when the previous visa was a T visa.
Well yes, but even in the days of applying direct you only ever got to speak to front of house people, never a Consul or vice-Consul (in Birmingham at least).

It seems ridiculous that OP is having this trouble, the VFS people know the rules by now, and anyway in my experience have always been willing to refer applications to the CGI even when they thought they would be refused.
I hope OP gets things sorted asap.

AndyD 8-)#

Thanks Andy, that was the link I was going to sort out for Kernow.

.

'That's interesting, last time I went to CGI Birmingham you were checked at the door to see that you had 'business' to be there - I had to be vouched for by a VFS employee. The CGI Edinburgh website also says in Big Print that you must apply in person to VFS'

Yes, of course the website directs you to VFS, I am only relating my experience - the CGI Edinburgh is a busy little offfice (5 minutes walk away from VFS) with people sorting out their various problems face to face with the Consul and/or Consular officials.

I and family have had to resort to this approach on several occasions as a consequence of VFS incompetence/inaction, and it got the job done.

'...but even in the days of applying direct you only ever got to speak to front of house people, never a Consul or vice-Consul...'

I remember those days also, when visa application was so much simpler, apply in the morning and collect in the afternoon, face to face, no hassle (and the visa was a smudged ink stamp, not a paper sticker with holograms, photographs and watermarks and all!!)

Good luck to OP.

When you applied for your recently granted 1 year X, was the small matter that (I assume) you had been travelling in at least the previous year on a T visa fail to get a mention, no questions asked?

I mentioned last year's T - and the preceding three X's in the covering letter; when filling in the online form I 'assumed' that by previous visas No. they meant previous X visa, but then I added last year's no. by hand.
I wasn't asked any questions, asked for interview or for more documents - but I was kept waiting for 15 days while somebody was consulted.
(The VFS people were friendly and helpful but why is a visa dated 23rd not shown as ready until pm on 27th?)

AndyD 8-)#

P.S. On our first few visits to India no visa was needed ("Commonwealth rules" - same as the poor old nun who was kicked out recently, then reprieved).

Seems like they make the rules, then apply a complete different set of rules !!
Sorry for you K.

Dread - x

No Dread, the Government of India make the rules and the local High Commission applies them.
This problem stems from the idiots at VFS, (who are not entitled to make ANY rules) talking out of their @rses and jerking people like Kernow around.
Lots of us have experienced it, stood our ground in the face of ignorance and abuse from these scumbag jobsworths, and ended up getting what we knew we should have been granted politely in the first place.
Clearly from what Babu says, Edinburgh is an exception, and this has been widely reported elsewhere. however, unless you live in Scotland its irrelevant as you are not allowed to deal with them.
It is quite apparent that Birmingham is hit & miss, as are the London offices, but it seems you are more likely to be subjected to abuse and wrongful advice - again.....THEY CANNOT REFUSE TO ACCEPT YOUR APPLICATION, so they resort to these mind games.


.

Well I can't fathom it, yesterday I received my passport back with a shiny new 6 month tourist visa, incidently these have changed as well in format and now also include a tiny photo of yourself, which does make u wonder why they wanted a 2x2 pic. However Mrs K still hasn't had hers back and from what they tell me hers has not been accepted. So when we get it back we will go to Brum ourselves, show them the FQA's from their website and generally argue the toss till we get what we want. After the 6 months is another story, sadly our time in Goa I think will be over, then we will have to decide where we want to live. Any one got any reccomendations for somewhere with a lot less hassle than India?

Sadly Kernow most other countries in south-east Asia only give a 3 month tourist visa.Should think ourselves lucky we get 6/12month visas.Hope Mrs K soon gets her visa so you can come home.

Thailand give a 1 year renewable resident visa (with requirements).
Malaysia give a 5 year renewable resident visa (with requirements).
Phillipeans give a resident visa, not sure for how long or requirements.
I visit other South East Asian countries only on tourist visas and all much easier than India visas to get, and never had any of this two month out rubbish, but never tried to live in these countries on a tourist visa, but you can get resident visas, ive never looked at Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia etc etc, i have heard of many long termers living in these other countries.

Fine for long`term if your prepared to put quite large sums of money into bank accounts. In my books thats that almost as bad as buying property!And as you say- you`ve never tried to live in these countries!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you actually looked into the "Malaysia my 2nd home" package?