Bits: Indian visa changes, Sofitel Terminal 5, how HfP impacted East Coast Rewards

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• David says:

  18 Mar18 March 07:41

  Let’s hope this comes in soon as I have a trip booked for July – http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/China-France-UK-and-3-more-in-e-visa-list-India-sees-421-6-jump-in-tourists/articleshow/46318332.cms#

• Jono says:

  18 Mar18 March 07:43

  A group of 10 of us have just arranged our visas over the last 2 weeks for a 1 week trip to Goa. The total cost spent on visas worked out over 1000 pounds between us for that one week.

  5 of us posted their applications and received them back within a space of 3 or 4 days. For the 5 of us that didn’t trust the postal service and decided to book appointments to drop off and collect, even with appointments booked and arriving on time the wait time at the Goswell Road office of VFS was between 2 and 5 hours each.

  I have absolutely no idea how they are going to cope with the increase in appointment meetings if visas can no longer be applied for via the post.

• erico1875 says:

  18 Mar18 March 07:43

  BTW the biometric stuff isnt needed at the moment . Not everyone has to attend to hand the forms in. I took mine in for my wife..

• Paul says:

  18 Mar18 March 07:53

  With regard to Visas….The elephant in the room here is the UK. We make it so expensive and so difficult for some countries that they retaliate in kind. Indonesia Vietnam and many others have visa requirements for UK passport holders while many other nations, including EU countries do not.
  Some make it easier than others but the bottom line here is that if we believe that we have to “protect our borders” and support the often draconian processes the UK imposes on others then we can’t really complain when we face the same issues.

  That said I have long avoided India for tourism as the visas charges are ludicrous. This adds to that reluctance.

  • erico1875 says:

    18 Mar18 March 08:09

    Agree. I would guess its a bureaucratic and costly pallava to get into the UK

  • Brian says:

    18 Mar18 March 09:09

    The elephant in the room is the fact the UK doesn’t have a National Identity Card and thus once you’re inside the border much harder to identify overstayers / illegal immigrants.

    • Callum says:

      18 Mar18 March 11:06

      Aside from that having absolutely nothing to do with Indian visas, that doesn’t sound remotely accurate.

      How does having national ID cards show you’re not overstaying and are here legally? The people who are most likely to be here illegally are the ones who legitimately wouldn’t have them by virtue of not being a resident…

  • Londonbus says:

    18 Mar18 March 23:17

    Vietnam applies the same regulations to French and Irish as it does to the UK – i.e. pre-applied Visa or Visa on Arrival.

    Indonesia offers VOA for UK passport holders. Neither country discriminates against the UK compared to other EU countries.

  • Andy says:

    19 Mar19 March 07:22

    Clearly the point here is that Indian and other nationals are frankly more likely to overstay their visas here whereas its hardly likely to happen the other way round is it?

• richie says:

  18 Mar18 March 07:59

  I went through the same process . With the India visa. They only changed on Monday. However I called in Monday and got an appointment sane day and have just received a txt saying my visa will be delivered today. Its been £92 since i was looking 6 months ago. So hasn’t gone up very recently. Also at my appointment on Monday they didn’t do any fingerprints etc. Yes the process has got more complicated -agreed. The visa on arrival will be for all eu passports by the end of the year which will be much easier

  • SB says:

    18 Mar18 March 08:44

    Fine, if you are solo and/or living or working near one of the 14 centres, not good though taking kids out of school, day off work, especially if you live far away. I tried to book an appointment online (can’t chance a four hour round trip to try and just turn up) but the website crashes whichever browser you use. Postal applications of course now not accepted.

    • richie says:

      18 Mar18 March 08:51

      yes fair point. -just wait 6-12 months for the voa. its already live for 42 countries. with the rest going live soon

      • SB says:

        18 Mar18 March 09:01

        agreed richie. See comment about VoA below. Still not ideal as has to be paid for etc I believe prior to travel. Still, will be an improvement if the website works!

        The problem is also that the bureaucratic Indian regime are a stickler for 6 months passport validity too, so one passport update (frequent for children), or others in the party travelling delays a visa application, scuppering a family trip. Knowing about it a month ago would make little difference. The hassle now is too much. Even the photos required for an Indian visa are not standard ‘photo booth’ standard passport size, and one helpline number is permanently engaged, the other costs 94p per minute. What a mess.

        Visa upon arrival due in October but the process still needs to be completed before arrival, on the computing equivalent of a ‘ZX81′ website.

        http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/india/11426221/New-Indian-visa-rules-require-British-tourists-to-provide-fingerprints.html

• Ian says:

  18 Mar18 March 09:13

  Re: the Sofitel at LHR T5, I’ve just made a booking (thanks for the heads up). Will my platinum accor status be honoured if I flash the card on check in (as I don’t seem to be able to access the reservation online)? Or do I lose out on the benefits of that by going the cheap route?

  • Brian says:

    18 Mar18 March 09:50

    You’ll get no points or stay credit, but you ought to get the benefits, especially if you ask nicely.

  • The_Real_A says:

    18 Mar18 March 10:16

    I can confirm i was proactively offered lounge access (evening canapés / breakfast), a slightly larger room and late checkout (which i declined).

    Just ensure the first interaction with the reception member (after hello) is to pass over your platinum card.

    • Ian says:

      18 Mar18 March 11:45

      Thanks Brian and The_Real_A – don’t need the points, but definitely up for being treated nice 🙂

      • Brian says:

        18 Mar18 March 14:52

        It might be worth sending an email in advance, too, informing them that you’re a platinum member. After all, if you just turn up, they might not know what, if any, status you have and will no doubt have already allocated a room to you – quite possible a rubbish one, given the price you’ve paid. They might then change this if you give them the platinum card, but emailing them in advance provides them with enough notice to make sure they allocate you with a good room in the first place.
        That’s what I did with an Indigo hotel in Berlin once and they emailed back to say they’d upgrade me as a Platinum IHG member.

• Deenesh says:

  18 Mar18 March 09:33

  We cancelled a trip to India last year becuase of the Indian Visa rules. While at the time Bio scans etc weren’t needed the other issues remained. Non functioning website, no indication of approval meaning £92 each at risk for all 5 of us. Coupled with the costs of inoculations not provided by the NHS we were paying around £500 each before we ever booked flights and hotels. It is a real shame as I would live to go again – my grandparents were from India and I last visited as a child when things were unappreciated by me
  Due to my age. I doubt I’ll ever go back unless the process drastically changes.

  • Nadeshka says:

    18 Mar18 March 09:39

    If your grandparents were Indian citizens (and you have proof) you should look into getting an OCI. The process is just as bureaucratic (if not worse!) but for £200 you get a lifelong multipurpose (inc work etc) visa. Just finished getting them for the family and it’s a relief to never have to deal with the system again – just book flights and go.

• Kiran says:

  18 Mar18 March 14:21

  I am an Indian citizen just about to give it up as I have recently been naturalized as a British citizen. If it is any consolation, the Indian visa process is actually much easier than say for Indians trying to renew their Indian passports at the high commission in London. The entire system is completely broken. I was hoping the new Indian government would clean up the foreign service but evidently it isn’t easy.
  However, I have no sympathy for British people complaining about the cost of Indian visas. UK visas are ridiculously expensive as well (around £85 for a 6 month visa) and the process is equally difficult. In comparison, one just pays about USD 130 for a 10-year multiple entry visa to the US. Even the Schengen visa which lets people travel across most of the continent costs less. The application process is easier too. I know loads of Indians who come to Europe and don’t bother visiting the UK because of the visa process.
  My parents visited us for a few weeks back in 2013 and getting UK visas for them was a costly and stressful process. They have property in India, enough savings, I was employed in a well-paying job and have a own house in England. It was still a long-winded process. My father in his 70s doesn’t want to go through that again. It is a shame really

  • JohnG says:

    18 Mar18 March 21:53

    It’s a shame most British people don’t realize this. We act like India (and other countries with difficult visa processes) is well out of order, yet are completely ignorant of the fact that our own visa process is just as bad or worse! Too many people wouldn’t care anyway, they’d expect India to bend over for UK citizens and Indians to suck it up and deal with our process anyway because DYKWIA!?

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