We sent ours to Yourtravelshop.com so its all in the
hands of the agent thank goodness,have been told
we should get them Monday
ANN

Hi Holmesabbey

I rang them and they said we were in the system.I'd give them a ring Monday am , just to make sure.Theres a few comments about Edinburgh a few pages back.

Good luck ,let me know what happens.

Yourtravelshop got our applications yesterday, think I will ring them tomorrow to see what the situation is. It's really worrying. We don't go till 24th November, but I really like my passport in my possession. Now thinking of the consequences of it not being back in time.

We've just arrived home from the Nottingham surgery - complete with visas!

After reading some of the experiences at other surgeries, I finally convinced my husband that we needed to get there early (no, dear, 8am is NOT early enough - trust me! ).
We got there at 6am and there were about 25 to 30 people in front of us.
I asked the guy right at the front of the queue and he'd been there since 10.00 o'clock LAST NIGHT!
Apparently, he'd been to the Bradford surgery last week and didn't manage to get his visas, so was taking no prisoners today.

We were chatting to the people around us and the time passed quite quickly, while the queue behind us grew even faster.
One couple had queued at Bradford from 8am to 4pm before they made the cut-off 4 people in front of them and they were turned away.

Someone from the Indian Community Centre passed a note through the crowd, explaining the procedure:
Desk 1 - collect your raffle ticket PER PASSPORT
Queue to be seen at Desk 2 where your application was checked by volunteers AND you were required to pay an additional £5 fee.
Queue for Desk 3 where the HCI staff processed your application, took your money and held onto your passport for the visa to be stuck in.
Wait again for your passports to be returned.
Leave with a big smile on your face.

We were 73 & 74 in the queue.
They had notices saying that a maximum of 4 applications per person would be proccessed and that the HCI had agreed to issue 500 visas only during the day.

The doors to the Centre opened at 8:30am and the checking began.
The 'suits' from the HCI arrived at 9:30am and things went quite quickly from then on.

There was a lot of general confusion about whether the London or Birmingham forms should be used (it had to be London).
I'd actually completed both forms anyway - just in case.
Also, some people had got postal orders payable to CGI, rather than HCI and they wouldn't accept these.
I left the payee on ours blank until we got to the paying stage - just in case.
I even got 4 seperate postal orders: 2 for £30 each to cover the visa fee, 2 for £10 each to cover the surgery fee - I was taking NO chances at all.

They were providing tea & coffee free of charge and the enterprising ladies of the community were providing refreshments - 2 pakoras for 80p, 2 samosas for £1. DELICIOUS

We got our passports with visas back just after 10:45am.

When we came out of the building there was still a big queue so I'd be very surprised if everyone came home with a visa.

Full marks to the volunteers of the Indian Community Centre Association who seemed to have thought out the process well and were very well organised.
I was talking to one chap and he said that they (ICCA) insist the HCI people come up the night before and that the ICCA foot the bill for their accommodation, lunch etc. They'd even collected them from their hotel and brought them to the hall.

It cost us almost £100 for the 2 visas:
£30 plus £2.63 fee per postal order
£10 plus 88p fee per postal order
£5 additional surgery fee per application

Anyway, it's a big relief to have that out of the way - just looking forward to going now.
The jury is still out as to whether we'll return to Goa for the 2008/09 season - it depends if the visa application process improves from how it currently is.

Polly

Really happy now, we have our visa's
This morning at 5.30am Steven and myself join the already 20 string queue outside the Nottingham Visa Surgery, apparently the first guy had been there since 10pm last night it looked like most of those at the front of the queue had been disappointed at the Bradford Visa surgery last week.
I must congratulate the Indian Community Centre volunteers who ran the surgery for there organisation, hospitality and good humour, everything went very smoothly, but we had filled in the wrong forms, we had downloaded the Birmingham form but it was alright thanks to a young girl at the side of us who had 2 spare London forms.
I certainly wont be put of attending this surgery again, just by listening to those people who were around us who attended the Bradford surgery last week it was far more realaxed and efficient at Nottingham and what a friendly bunch of fellow Goa travellers they were too.
See you all on the beach or at a meet very soon

Jayne

I think you both deserve a drink.See you in Goa

Just had phone call from Yourtravelshop.com letting us
know our visa,s have been posted today
let you all know when they arrive tomorrow.
Ann

Ann when did you send yours away how long was it from you sent them to you got your call to say they will post them back again to you:?:
My hubby phoned puja they have gor our visas ok got them on thur the 10th but they said it will be next week before they even get to look at them .....colleen

Colleen, do you mean they got your visa applications? or the actual visa?
If it's the visa then that was damned quick.

sorry polly what I mean is the passports have got to their office ok ....colleen

Why are people still using Puja? When Yourtravelshop.com in Bolton will do them at £10 per Visa and in 2 weeks.

They travel down to Birmingham daily, so guarantee a 2 week turn around.

Hi Colleen,posted them to yourtravelshop on sept27th
its been more than the 10day turn around but at least
they are on the way,the lady on the phone did tell me
that they went to Birmingham every day,but could only
have so many done, on any one day and that the rules
were changed daily
hope yours arrive soon
Ann

Anybody know anything about the Edinburgh Surgery and how long the visa's are taking there.

Thanks.

Edinburgh will only deal with visas if the applicant has a Scottish address.

Mike

We sent our passports to the agents in west bromwich on the 27th of September with the promise of a one week turn around, we rang on sat. and they said they needed a photocopy of our flight ticket to get our visas for this week, because people are putting false flight dates on thier applications, we should fly out in the early hours of friday morning but at the moment it is lookng desperate.

Hope they come in time for your flight on friday Lynndan,
these visa,s are getting to be a nightmare .
at least our,s are on the way and we have untill 10th Nov.
Best of luck
Ann

Lynndan,

Perhaps I am being more than a bit naive, but how do the agents know that flight details are false, and what is it to them, because surely the visas are issued for 6 months; a person may have to suddenly change their flight for whatever reason?

Or is the problem not the date on which you fly out, but the date on which you return? I seem to remember reading somewhere they do not like people who travel on charter flights, staying longer than a certain period of time.

Sheila.

It may not be the agents that are asking for this, it may be the Embassies themselves, there may be many people that are trying to jump the queues.

Lynndan
I hope your passports complete with visas arrive back in time.

This whole situation is getting bizarre.

I read on another website that one of the agents is not sending their next 'allocation' of 90 applications to CGI Birmingham until 14th November.

We fly on the 17th November and were planning to apply through the same agent until the postal strike put us off.
We queued at Nottingham instead and are sorted out.

Regards
Polly