UK India Visa Problems

[crispy23]

Just a heads up for anyone from the UK that may be visiting India whether it’s on a cruise or not. We are booked on the passage to India cruise in May 2023 and are really looking forward to visiting some great places on this itinerary.  However we need a visa even though we are only there for a very short while as joining the ship in Mumbai. Unfortunately it appears for whatever reason we cannot now get an E visa that was available up until recently but now have to apply in person to a visa issuing centre to get an old fashioned paper version.  We started to investigate and learnt there are serious delays in just getting even an appointment as you cannot just show up and the whole process is a real faff! 
Our advice is if you are planning a visit to India investigate the visa issue sooner rather than later, for us we have managed yesterday to get an appointment but not for 8 weeks, then wait about another 2 weeks for your passport to be returned so a good job we are not travelling anytime soon.

[claranda]

Yes, it’s a real bore, this! I’m off to India in March and am hanging on in the hope that the feel-good factor in India about our new PM may result in a return to the e-visa, but it’s probably a forlorn hope.

 

As I understand it, you have to complete the e-visa form on line and submit it to your designated visa centre (Birmingham in my case) and then go to one of the linked offices (Bradford in my case) to queue for a few hours to jump through all the hoops. One piece of advice I do have for people in the same position: triple check that you have everything with you and it’s in the right colour ink, the right size (for photos), otherwise you will be sent away to get it right and queue again. I heard of one person turned away because they put British instead of United Kingdom for their nationality.

 

The last time I needed an India visa I had to do all this and submit it in Bangkok, where I had just half a day between planes. I did it, but what a pfaff! It’s all because we haven’t finalised a trade deal with India apparently….

[Pushka]

7 hours ago, crispy23 said:

Just a heads up for anyone from the UK that may be visiting India whether it’s on a cruise or not. We are booked on the passage to India cruise in May 2023 and are really looking forward to visiting some great places on this itinerary.  However we need a visa even though we are only there for a very short while as joining the ship in Mumbai. Unfortunately it appears for whatever reason we cannot now get an E visa that was available up until recently but now have to apply in person to a visa issuing centre to get an old fashioned paper version.  We started to investigate and learnt there are serious delays in just getting even an appointment as you cannot just show up and the whole process is a real faff! 
Our advice is if you are planning a visit to India investigate the visa issue sooner rather than later, for us we have managed yesterday to get an appointment but not for 8 weeks, then wait about another 2 weeks for your passport to be returned so a good job we are not travelling anytime soon.

I think you are on Passage to India which is the one we are on. We are very lucky in Australia as it's an eVisa. I understand Canadians also have the same issue as UK citizens. I really hope you can get it sorted.  I think it might also need to be for a year visa as it's more than 30 days out. We are thinking of getting ours sorted anyway. 
 

Also, did you see the itinerary change. We are now going to Saudi Arabia. That requires a visa. Costs over $AUD 220 a person! 🤬. And only one night in Athens. 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Pushka

[crispy23]

Hi there, yes did notice the visa issue affected Canadian citizens also and we did see the itinerary change, it came through the other day which now includes Saudi Arabia but no overnight in Athens, this for us is not a big issue as have been to Athens previously numerous times but is a shame if you haven’t. However as you state we need visas now for Saudi and that together with those for India for us is over £500 so 🥹

[downsmead]

We are out in India at present, though not on a cruise this time. E-visas did not apply to cruises at that time when we called in from a cruise (visited Mumbai, Goa and Cochin).

The form to complete is a different one to the e-visa one. You need to upload a photo to this form, and then having submitted it, you can the apply for an appointment at the visa centre. You can check in advance how long it will take to get an appointment. Depending where you live, it is worth checking a few different centres if you can travel. Some have a lesser waiting time than others. It took us 4.5 hours at the centre; waiting! Our appointment was at 11.30 and we didn’t get to the counter to be seen until 3.30. You need copies of everything plus a photo to attach to your application form, although you have already submitted one! 
We were lucky in that the guy that dealt with us at the centre was helpful, but like above, not all are so helpful and will send you away for the smallest incorrect detail. As said, your passports take about two weeks to come back. There is also another form to fill in online if you are flying, not sure if this applies to cruises to.

Our two visas cost us £350.