Yes, thank you Sue. I, like most expats I am sure, avidly follow specific threads which interest them most - visa issues being a very important one.

We are almost all either tourists or expats in some form or other, and I found the reference to illegal immigrants most offensive.

Thanks again.

Iain

Just read on the VFS website :-

Important Notice - India Visa Application Centre in Victoria, London will close for operations effective from 01 July 2013. All visa & Passport Surrender applications can be submitted to the nearest centre in Goswell Road, near Barbican Station. Please find the map attached for directions to Indian Visa Application Centre, Goswell Road, London.

Thanks for highlighting that, I usually go to Victoria and as I tend not to read the blurb on the site I could have just turned up at Victoria.

Me too, as Victoria was so handy for me. At least Barbican is on the Circle Line - wonder how long the walk is from Barbican Stn? Happy Days!!!!

Good exercise Iain !!!!

Dread - x

It's called a Business Visa and costs $295 a year.
message moved for Tuvula

Victoria was so handy as just 5 min walk from the coach station and it had a sainsbury's just opposite for cheap food and drink. I'm gutted!

I personally always use hayes as a 45 drive from Oxford and normally pretty quiet.

Also then en route to Ikea at wembley for some retail therapy!!!

Some friends who live full time in Goa recently applied for a 6 month tourist visa cos they didn`t want hassle of interviews etc possibly needed for a 2 yr T visa and were told that being as they were on back to back visa they did not qualify for T visas and should be applying for Entry visas????????
He also told them that next year they were introducing finger printing and eye scanning and throughly checking you met the criteria of the visa you were applying for.

Well if they have property in India they are not entitled to a T visa (as you know).
The advanced visa system (or some such name) has been on the cards for several years.
Did they tell your friends what documents to supply to get the X (Entry) visa?

AndyD 8-)₹

The above has got to be related to this:

http://www.hcilondon.in/pdf/RFPoutsourcing.pdf

Quite a long & boring read - it would be interesting to know if a new 'service provider' would take this lot on based on the amount of complete & utter nonsense & bureaucracy that is nailed on to be involved.

H.

They are not property owners and I believe this "job worths" put in their application for T visas.

I cannot understand the mentality of this tit for tat visa mess that the British government and the Indian government have got them selves into. £92 for a six month visa is a step too far as far as i am concerned.Talk about shooting themselves in the wallet....India has a genuine hard currency crisis on its hands and cannot even afford to pay for its gas and oil from Iran. you would think that they would promote tourism instead of hindering it but then The Congress Party have never been noted for intelligence, just loyalty to their collective wallets.Air fares are up due to the stupid tax they have imposed.It must be the only tax in history, bar the one the Nazis imposed in 1936 on Jews leaving Germany, for leaving a country ! average tickets to Goa are now costing £800 plus £92 for a visa ! The Russkies only pay £30.......seriously taking the p**s with this measure and now they have re-started the confiscations it looks like India is emulating the Nazis too.Talking about biting the hand that feeds them !

Courtesy of Goan Voice UK

Time for India to hit back at UK's irrational visa barriers

1 Aug: Business Standard. It now appears from press reports that London wants to go ahead with demanding from an unspecified range of Indian visitors to the UK a £3000-bond (around Rs 275,000), as surety that the visitor will leave their country, and not become an illegal migrant… Former ambassador to Germany argues why India should reciprocate by imposing a bond on British visitors on a matching basis .

Complete article here:-
http://www.business-standard.com/art...3101228_1.html

Simple, 99.999% of UK visitors to India leave on, or usually before, the end of their visas. We do not have a massive network of family and friends to disappear into, never to be seen again. If we did, we would be earning a pittance compared with the UK, and would most certainly not be economic migrants. We would receive no assistance, benefits, health care or education (not that we get any of those during a legal stay).
No matter how we wangle it, we can never be citizens, or realistically even residents as we stand out a mile.

Now........... reverse all that, and ask yourself why the idea of this deposit might have occurred to OUR government.

And yes its just an idea, not a plan, a white paper, a green paper, or a bill for consideration. We have open government and free speech and if an idea like this is mooted we get to hear about it.

When the BJP/Congress/RSS etc come up with their fascist plans, do we get to hear?

And if our concience wishes to offer the usual "other side", please do. As usual these days I will have no problem ignoring it and not responding.


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