India Visa application

Hello mad-runner. Funnily enough, just applied for Indian Visas for self and my wife. We did it ourselves. Fill in the forms online at VSF Global, complete with the declaration/choice of visa/passport etc, and post them off. You MUST have the correct size photos or the appliocation will be rejected-go to Snappy Snaps and they can do them the correct size. Make sure you complete the form properly, and remember the visa starts from day of issue, not date of travel. Post to VSF Global together with a self addressed Special Delivery envelope. You can pay with credit card online, and it calculates all costs for you. We had our passports returned with visas in about 10 days. My reading is that with Travcour, you fill in the forms on the VSF website, then print them off and give them to Travcour with an exorbitant fee for looking at the documents and putting them in the post. Agencies are a rip-off, and if you can spell your name and address and do some basic arithmetic, you don't need them

Depends where you live.  If you are near an application centure, the in person service is pretty good these days.  On my last trip to India, my friend went in person having done the forms online and got it all done and dusted in about 30 minutes.  If that isn't convenient and you are in no great rush for your visa, I agree with the last poster that you may as well do it direct rather than use an agency.  If you are in a rush, the agencies can be worth it just for the knowledge that they will be better at chasing your application through the system, making sure they don't lose your passport etc. and that they owe you some responsibility to get it done.  Also, if you do it yourself, make sure there aren't any special restrictions applicable to your application - for example, I am a lawyer and you have to take extra paperwork from your employer proving you are not going to work in India to get the visa as they want to make sure you are going to come back to England! Emma

I'd agree with the above - apply for it yourself.  The website isn't the easiest to navigate around, but I managed - sent to them and returned within a week.  As stated by Steve Taylor, send it in a special delivery envelope with a prepaid special del one enclosed (keep a note of the tracking no).  I paid about £1.50 extra and got regular updates by text of the progress of my application and they texted me the post office tracking no so that I could track it on line.  I'd only pay an agent if you could only get the visa by turning up at the embassy - agents charge a fortune!

Thanks for responses regarding the visa. I've gone with the 'DIY' option and will be posting everything off tomorrow, having paid for text updates etc. Fingers crossed it's all ok.

Have a fabulous trip!

I paid for text updates and didnt get any, so dont worry if you dont either.

 Took 5 days from sending off to getting mine back, was very quick

Hello,Just so that others can benefit-I sent my passport off on the Wednesday and received it back with Visa by the next Wednesday. Did not use any agency and got text message updates which is v reassuring.I definitely would go for the DIY option again!!

Hi Just realised that we had to do this ourselves and for a family of 5 is going to add a lot to the cost of our already very expensive trip, nut hey ho in for a penny....

Thanks for advice on visas will definately  do it myself...

In the process of completing the online Indian Visa form. The form requests a "Reference in India". For a Tourist Visa supplementary information suggests entering the name of your hotel. I have checked the information received from Exodus and its states "unspecified hotel"! Have others completed this field on filling out the application and if so what did you enter?

Exodus, the Trip Notes state, "For UK residents full details of the visa process will be provided with your booking confirmation." However, the booking confirmation states, "Full details regarding any visas required for your holiday can be found in your Trip Notes". Each refers to the other and provides nothing!

 

You could probably email Exodus and they will tell you, although i did read online that you can put any hotel in there, they dont check

I would suggest contacting Exodus who should by now know which hotel is being used for your trip.  However, as Paul states above - I am pretty sure that they don't check - they certainly don't when you fill in the immigration forms (or didn't when I have been there).

Sometime you can get the name of the local agent that they use and put that in.

Good luck and enjoy your trip,