How long does it take to get an India visa?

kuepper

I want to holiday in India and could take my application in in person to the new manchester visa office to minimise risk of loss/delay but I need to travel abroad a lot and don't want to be without my UK passport for long. the vfs website doesn't indicate any times it just says don't confirm any travel plans until you've got a visa which sounds ominous. Anybody any experience of how long it typically takes either at manchester or elsewhere in UK? Dont know if its true but someone told me the Manchester office just sends it to Birmingham which doesnt bode well for the efficiency of the process and risk of problems

Caz3121

did mine in the Edinburgh office and it took a week to come back

Mr_Wang

3 days in Birmingham.

blindman

4 days in London

From the Machester page of Indian Visa

The processing time for applications submitted at this center is a minimum of 5 working days.

Full info-Note they only post the passports back

India Visa Application Center
18-22 Mosley Street
Manchester
M2 3AG

Working hours: 0900 - 1430 Hrs Monday-Friday

Passport Collection: Please note that the processed passports for any submissions in Manchester will only be returned to the applicants by secured post. You can buy a DX secure mail delivery envelope from VFS by paying an additional charge of £7.40 per envelope or provide a pre-paid envelope. No collections will be available at the centre location. The processing time for applications submitted at this center is a minimum of 5 working days.

Limited Parking Space
Mode of payment: Postal order/ Online payment/Credit/Debit Card

APPLICANTS ARE ADVISED NOT TO SEND ANY POSTAL APPLICATIONS TO THIS CENTER. VFS UK LTD. WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY LIABILITIES FOR LOSS OF DOCUMENTS IF SENT BY POST. ALL POSTAL APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE SENT TO INDIA VISA APPLICATION CENTER IN HAYES.

Westin

Did mine by post using VFS and had it back in 5 days.

Bob_the_Saver

With us it has always been a case of in on Monday collect on Wednesday if there are no Indian public holidays to delay it. This is when delivering it to London and collecting from there.
HOWEVER you must make sure that the application is completed fully and 100% correct, the photos are correct and your signature EXACTLY matches the one on your passport. Various occupations can cause problems and delays, the website for details.

Pollycat

I recommend that you check out the Goa forum on Tripadvisor.

There's a very comprehensive guide about how to complete the form correctly - lots of people do have problems, albeit mostly of their own making.

Manchester VFS office is just a drop-off point (although they do check your application and point out any obvious errors) and yes, your application is then sent on to Birmingham Consulate General's (CGI) office for issue of the visa and return by RM or courier.
If you go for this option, do think about the best option for you if you happen to be out when your passport is delivered.
If courier, you'll have to re-arrange delivery. If RM, pop along to your nearest sorting office.

An alternative would be to drop off at Birmingham VFS and then collect a few days later.

We've always done a postal application to Hayes VFS.

Mr_Wang

Bob_the_Saver wrote: »

With us it has always been a case of in on Monday collect on Wednesday if there are no Indian public holidays to delay it. This is when delivering it to London and collecting from there.
HOWEVER you must make sure that the application is completed fully and 100% correct, the photos are correct and your signature EXACTLY matches the one on your passport. Various occupations can cause problems and delays, the website for details.

Agree with all this, but at Birmingham (not sure about London) they check over the form and pictures before accepting it advising of any potential issues.
That said, for all the hassle of getting the Indian Visa and the !!!!!!!! required on the form - VFS are highly efficient.

raj_s

Can anybody recommend any good Birmingham Indian Visa agents. I need a reliable service that covers Birmingham and can fill the form for me and do all the work. Please can somebody tell me if they have used any good Birmingham Indian Visa Agents.

Doshwaster

In the past I have used Travcour (http://www.travcour.com) for Indian business visas. I found the service to be excellent and their fees reasonable.