India visa in UK process time can vary from application to application and lies at the sole discretion of the High Commission of India and its Consulates in the UK. Some applications may take longer than others to get processed. Hence, confirm your travel plans only after obtaining the appropriate Indian visa.
No. The staff in the Indian visa application center do not possess any authority or discretion with regards to the Indian visa decision. Their job is administrative in nature only.
It is advised to procure the visa first and then book for travel. In case of visa being denied or delayed it can result in losses.
The validity of the India visa begins from the date issued and not from the date of your departure mentioned on the application form.
No. The High Commission of India or its consulates doesn’t accept any application in post. All the Visa/Passport/Select Consular and Surrender of Indian services are outsourced to VFS. All Postal application (Visa Only) must be sent to our Hounslow Application Centre only.
The processing time for postal applications is at least 2 weeks (15 days) from the date of receipt of complete application. This excludes the processing time of the application at the Mission. Please note incomplete/incorrect applications would be returned. In addition, there will be no replies to email or telephonic queries for 15 days from the receipt of India visa application at the office.
One can fill up a Non-UK Form through the website or at the visa center and pay Referral Fee of £10. The minimum processing time for Non-UK Passport holders (resident in the UK for less than 2 years) is minimum 10-15 working days.
Once printed, the online India visa form cannot be edited. Hence one is required to verify all the information entered before submitting the application and taking a print out. In case of an error, one needs to fill out a new application form.
At the beginning and on each subsequent page of the online form there is a unique temporary ID that is generated at the top of the page. Note the number to be able to retrieve your application before it is printed.
Payments can be made for your application online. However, you can also do the same at the visa center itself when you come to submit your documents.
Yes. No India visa applications will be accepted at the application centres without appointment except in case of Emergency.
All visitors need a visa for India, except citizens of neighbouring Nepal and Bhutan.
The Indian government has introduced one-month, one-year, and five-year electronic visas for citizens of most countries. The e-visas are available for tourism, business, medical, and conference purposes.
However, citizens of the United States can get a regular Tourist visa which is valid for up to 10 years. Some people may also require a type of visa that is not offered as an e-Visa.
Visitors staying in India for less than 72 hours can obtain a Transit visa (a confirmed airline booking for the onward journey must be shown when applying), otherwise a Tourist visa is necessary.
What is the length of the India tourist visa?
The length of the Tourist visa will depend on your nationality.
In addition, you’re not allowed to remain in India for more than six months (180 days) no matter the duration of your visa. In addition, some Tourist visas only allow stays of up to three months at a time. Other types of visas that are available for visitors to India include Business visas, Employment visas, Intern visas, Research visas, Student visas, Journalist visas, and Film visas.
Even if you have a valid Tourist visa, there are some remote areas in India that require foreigners to obtain a Protected Area Permit (PAP) to enter them. These areas are usually near borders, or have other security concerns associated with them.
Such areas include Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and some parts of northern Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand.
