Visa vagaries

Anyone who is thinking of booking a last minute jaunt to the Indian sunshine, dreaming of Goan white sands or Keralan backwaters, had better be aware that the days of the Indian-insta-holiday may now be over. As of this year the Indian government has farmed its visa application system out to an external agent, making it no longer possible - certainly in the UK - to book a trip with just a couple of days to spare.

In the past, UK nationals applying for an Indian visa would have to get up at the crack of dawn to arrive at India House at about 8.30am, only to find that the queue already snaked half-way around the building. After about an hour of chatting to the person in front, giving evils to anyone who tried to jump the queue, and admiring the carvings on the fascia on India House, the applicant would eventually reach a little window where they’d be given a queue number. Then after an even longer time they would squeeze into a small hall where they’d wait for their number to be called, hand in their papers, and then wait for the batches of passports and new visas to be handed out. There was almost nowhere to sit or stand, and there was always the air of fear that one may be in there forever.

Ah, happy days.

But what took a matter of hours now takes days. All applications need to be made online to the Indian High Commission’s agent VFSGlobal. It can be paid for online, and an ’appointment’ slot booked for forms to be handed in. Applications are then tracked online before a return journey is necessary to collect the passport. (A postal service does exist.) For UK nationals, VFSGlobal says ordinary tourist visas take a minimum of two to three working days after the application has been submitted.

A relative who recently went through the process, reported being rather traumatised after seeing the agent staple an envelope to her passport. “Is that legal?” she later asked. Out of curiosity she asked the clerk what travellers should do for an urgent visa application. “What happens if there is an emergency?” she asked. “What if someone’s relative is dying?”

“There’s no emergency without a death certificate,” the clerk replied.

“But it will be too late by then,” she said.

“No emergency without a death certificate,” the man repeated.

The process itself has not changed except that it is now slower and costs a bit more, with an agent’s handling fee levied on top of the usual visa fee.

If you know anybody who travels to India, do pass this information on so that they don’t get caught out. Having had a look at the information on travel sites, many people will not be aware of the change because so much information on the internet is now out of date. But the best rule of thumb is to always check for visa changes on the relevant embassy website, for whichever country you are visiting. Countries do change their systems and it is easy to be caught out. And if you find a last minute holiday on the internet leaving for glorious Goa in a couple of days, forget it.