Smudger when mine went to the consulate they were there for a week

hi jetti,
thanks for that mate but at least they are moving now. maybe all the public holidays are over for the time being
smudger2

well thats me filled in 4 visa applications for son,daughter and partners. Just need signed now. Took me bloody ages At least if these go through i will know mine and the wifes will be a doddle. Waiting to end of month before i send those away just in case a return visit is on the cards at the end of March

we will be back then were home 16th feb. by the way everyone there is another holiday on the 28th oct for india but i think there is only one in november .

the date of the hol in nov is 13th,dec hols are 9th xmas and boxing day

filled ours in on line and sent it off, (26th sep) got it back yesterday 2 week turnaround, not bad was expecting a bit longer....

still nothing on the online tracking for me? just that an application was created on 30th sept ....

Sent mine off yesterday. Will spend the next few weeks with sleepless nights.

Has anyone had their forms returned for being incorrect?

I think I signed in blue ink.

filled ours in on line and sent it off, (26th sep) got it back yesterday 2 week turnaround, not bad was expecting a bit longer.

Thats quick adele victoria.I'm only a few days behind you...hopefully.

Chilly

Have you thought about getting an OIC (Overseas Indian Citizenship) instead of a PIO card ? ? Am looking at this route myself - cheaper and is a "life-long" visa plus giving you almost the same rights as an Indian Citizen bar voting.

Hi Chrisanalfie
thanks for your reply, yes we did look into it but it doesnt cover spouses!!! so we have stuck with PIO which we already have in place .... however maybe my son should, actually he is really fed up as just called me from IHC this morning to say they didnt issue his PIO today as he only had the short version birth certificate with him and has to have the full one now only available by post or by going to issuing authority and seeing he just drove down from somerset to get this he is not happy!!!!We all came down to London but i didnt go up to IHC I stayed home with my friend!!! good thing as expect my husband and son are probably a bit grumpy!!
chilly

Hi Chilly,
tell ur son to have a nice cold beer (or 2 ...) to chill out tonite. I bet he's not happy.

I've still got 2 years left on my 5 year visa - haven't bothered with PIO to date and am still wondering whether to go for OIC. Heard the price will jump from the current £165.00 in new year plus am thinking of buying a place out there and think it may hapl with the Authorities.

But . . . .not sure I can be ars*d to go through the whole application process - have to dig out every little detail about parents etc. but will see when we get back from Goa in Nov. Can't wait now - 4 weeks to go

hi judsmiles,
keep smiling. i know exactly what you are going through but keep the faith and im sure all will be ok. i know its your valuable docs and you get worried. have u tried the complaints dept. hes very reassuring and things started to move after he interviened. thanks to him. maybe we all aught to send our suggestions to the complaints dept on how they could make the system better and and save us all from the anguish that we all feel when unknown persons are in charge of our passports which are very valuable documents. maybe a better contact system so that we can talk direct with the people that are dealing with our passports and not a 0.95p a minute helpline that is not (or appears not to be)in england. to employ some people that really understand our fears about lost or missing/mislaid passports. a better online tracking service. if there is a problem with your documentation then to get in touch immediatly and not leave it two weeks with some poor excuse that they couldnt get in touch with you when you put at least 3 contact, email and 2 different phone numbers on the visa application form.
if they would only listen to us
smudger2

I was also impressed by whoever mans the complaints phone number. I left him a voicemail with a query - and he phoned me back

Email is rubbish though, I wouldn't bother with that, they don't reply.

I don't know if any of you visit the http://www.indiamike.com website but there is a poster on their Visa forum called asmithee who appears (I think) to work for VFS or the High Commission. Whoever they are, they certainly have a lot of insider info. Some of the posts regarding the new system are very interesting and may be of help to people here.

Fiona - feel free to edit if you don't want me to promote another site, but HT is still my fave.

hi all,
passports now at embassy (10th oct) will keep u posted

smudger2
ps been on link to indiamike some great info there

I think ours are in the same batch Smudger2. How long now??

hi rokerender,
started all this on 15th of september and now finally got to embassy
smudger2

ps aledgedly had a problem with signature on one application form but they let me resubmit by fax at no cost

hi, do anyone know how many approval stages there are for the visa applications.

great news Smudger, wont be long before its back now

Thanks ... smudger2 how do you know your passports are there? is the online tracking picking them up now?

on Monday my friends paid £55 via an agent who has made their application SO easy peasy, ok they have delivered their passports(and will collect) from him, (their choice) but they are totaly stress free ..... NOW, I paid £118 for two, including the extra £40 for RAP. then £5.90 for a Special Delivery Envelope to send them in and an enclosed self addressed SDE another £5.90 and guess what ... I have paid out nearly £130 for two...I'm stressed to bits going slowly crazy, my pals are stress free, and we arn't going to Sikkim now ... change of plan, and all I can say is have you noticed my elephant

peterpan someone will know