Dave
some people don't have the option of waiting a fortnight for a passport. My husband needs his at some point every single month.
However, I agree having to go in person is a pain, particularly if like us, it involves two round trips of 5 hours. It doesn't make holidays in India very easy.

Good point Fiona, I forget some people travel with their jobs.
Me, just a pensioner !!!!!!

Not really helpful now but maybe for future ref - take a photocopy of your passport details and keep in a safe place . We also have a miniature credit card size copy of relevant passport details laminated to keep for ref - we were given this idea whilst on holiday once in Spain. It only cost a couple of euros complete with photo. It is handy for identification purposes without need for real passport.

Apologies if this has already been covered but if your applying for a Visa and you are British with a parent(s) of Pakistani or other origin it may be worth ringing one of the many Visa agents around for guidance.

Ive been going to Goa since 1991 and have never had a problem with my Visa, because I often need my passport for work Ive always left it pretty late to apply for my Visa. I was shocked to find out reading on another forum that people with a Pakistani parent are having problems getting a visa and those that have its taking weeks longer for it to arrive then its only a 3 month single entry.

Now I am 47 years of age, have a Pakistani father who Ive not seen for 40 Years have no idea whether hes still alive or not, but when I rang VFS was told that makes no difference at all and there was no guarantee that I would receive a Visa. If I hadnt already booked my flights that would have ended my love affair with Goa. I then rang a couple of the Visa agents that I googled both gave me the same advice except one of them told me just apply and not fill in your fathers details or your maiden name ( muslim name)
So I filled in the form using my Stepfathers details as my father so I could use his name as my maiden name. I felt a bit off doing this not because I was denying my origins I didnt really know my natural father and have no links at all with him or his family, it was more lying on the form and worrying because the details were different from previous applications.

Ive now received our Visas back which is great but its made me very wary and unsure if I would do this again.

Has anyone else been in this situation??

Hi bushbaby, it's £78.08 for 2 applications including their charges without the special delivery envelopes.

Can I ask (and it my have been covered somewhere before) but if you do not send a special delivery envelope do they just post them back anyway just curious, as last year we messed up the return envelopes ad they posted them back by normal post.
Also do you have to send them by special delivery or can you send by normal post?

Hi, sorry if this has been covered somewhere else, but on the visa application form where it asks for fathers name, do we have to put that down? Reason i am asking is because last year my o/h didnt put his fathers name down because he has been brought up by his stepfather, so he left it blank.
I know they are getting strict on leaving things blank.

Also, my son is only 5, so he didn't need to sign his passport, so i presume it will be his mother (me) , who signs for him? I did this last year.

Grr, i wish they wouldnt change things, i was quite happy the way it was last year.

Just looked on the visa page on where to send my forms and it is LONDON..Well at least i know now..

@ Debgreg - I paid up front for VFS to provide special delivery envelopes and that worked OK except they did not give me the tracking number so I couldn't query the post office as to where they were with out phoning VFS again. If I did it again I would supply my own special delivery envelope so I knew the tracking number of my return envelope.

I would NEVER put my passport in the normal post - it's too important a document to risk for a few quid.

I was just wondering because when the passport agency send you new passports they come by ordinary post

Yummymummy - see my post a little earlier from yours, I put my stepfather down in fathers details this year and got my Visa ok I did read an earlier post somewhere that someone put NA under fathers details and that was alright too.

Do you think they actually check these things???? My dad died last year but I still put him down without mentioning it and everything came back ok. Its probably more a case of what mood they're in at time of granting!!!!

Yummymummy - see my post a little earlier from yours, I put my stepfather down in fathers details this year and got my Visa ok I did read an earlier post somewhere that someone put NA under fathers details and that was alright too.

Thanks very much for that. I will get him to put down his step fathers details. But will it not look stupid putting his step fathers details down as for the past 10 years we have been putting N/A?

I dont want to risk putting N/A as i read earlier that John on this forum phoned the embassy and they said because he doesnt know his parents names then it isnt possible for him to get a visa, even though for the past times him and his wife have been to Goa he has been putting N/A

Yummymummy, re your husband putting N/A in the past, for every visa Ive applied for in the past I had put my natural fathers name and birthplace and this time I did feel a bit anxious putting different details but it did come back ok

There is an earlier post I cant post links yet put its under Visa Tips ( was on page four) posted by celcat who put NA under father and got a visa ok.

HRH5554 - My husbands parents are no longer alive but hes always still put their names on the form, I would think they want these details regardless of if they are still with us or not.

Friends of mine have also had a nightmare and have ended up driving down from Leeds to pick up their passport and visa. It's all very mixed up this year. I've got my fingers crossed that I get mine back in time, it's cost me a lot of money and hassle etc!

you should recive it back this week, we did ours like yo and when we tracked it we got them back the day after... hope they arrive soon..

hey whiskas
we applied for our visas 2 weeks ago and they have been returned to the agent today so you shouldnt have any problems with yours as they seem to be processed very quick

angie xx

Booked today for the Somy leaving Man 28th Dec for 2 weeks of heaven Spent all day filling in 7 visa forms , now printed, paid and ready to post in the morning,can anyone tell me can I put 4 sets in one envelope (I know I will need two envelopes for the way back) don't want to pay for two if not necessary.

According to the VFS website, they will only put two passports into each return envelope. This is ok if there are two or three of you going, but works out expensive if more than 4 go.