I wrote to First Choice. Their email answer is in this thread. It is as wishy washy as their phone answer - they follow embassy guidelines and are unable to give advice on visas as the situation changes regularly (I am paraphrasing).

Haymans74/Gooorooo

I was posting at the same time as you.

Thanks for the explanation, I was beginning to think I'd gone a bit daft.

Re your recourse should they refuse you boarding, I'm not a legal expert (although there are some very clued-up people on here who have a much better knowledge of law than I do) but as sunaddict says, airlines CAN over-rule a country's entry requirements so you might not have much legal recourse if your visa does not comply with what First Choice say they will accept.

If I were you I would be looking for written clarification from First Choice and also from VFS to take to the airport with you.

Also - the First Choice email reply stated that they take their advice on entry requirements from the Foreign Office website. Which states:

Entry Requirements - Visas
You must obtain a visa before travelling to India; without one you will be refused entry. Contact the Indian High Commission in London. Foreign nationals arriving in India on long term multiple entry visas must register with the nearest Foreigners Regional Registration Officer within 14 days of arrival. Overstayers will be fined and may be prosecuted or detained and later deported. They may also need to appear in person at the Ministry of Home Affairs in Delhi. The High Commission/Deputy High Commission may not be able to intervene in these cases.

Unless visiting neighbouring countries (see paragraph below), tourists leaving India will receive a stamp in their passports indicating that they may not re-enter India for two months, regardless of their length of stay prior to departure. Tourists wishing to return to India before the two month period has passed will now have to visit the Indian High Commission or Consulate in the country to which they travelled or are resident and present their case for re-entry.

The authorities in all Indian Immigration Check Posts have, however, been authorised to allow tourists to make two or three entries, based on production of an itinerary and documentation (ticket bookings) substantiating the need for tourism related travel to neighbouring countries. For further information read the FAQs published by the MHA: http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/FAQ-TVisa170510.pdf

To transit through India you will need a transit visa. A transit visa is valid for a single or double journey, within 15 days, effective from the date of issue. Transit visas are for the sole purpose of a direct transit for a maximum period of three days. For stays beyond three days, obtain an appropriate visa.

In September 2009, a large number of foreign nationals resident in India were found to be employed on business visas instead of employment visas. Ensure that your visa is appropriate for your travel.

So it says you need a visa, but not how long that visa should be for.

I am not not particularly worried about either boarding the plane OR getting into Goa. I think I could argue my case if they tried to stop us.

HOWEVER... back to the original questions IF we were stopped from boarding the plane - what could we do in terms of taking action?

Haha was posting at the same time as you again!

I think I will print out the foreign office guidelines to take with us, and hope that VFS reply to my email before we fly

Gooorooo
I think this situation calls for a 'belt & braces' approach.

Find and print off as much supporting documentation as you can find and take it with you.

As I said on the Goa forum, I think First Choice are confused and it's unlikely you will be denied boarding.

As for arguing your case should the worst happen, I was unfortunately witness to the incident I mentioned in my earlier post at Manchester where Monarch staff refused boarding. Believe me, there was LOTS of arguing but to no avail.
And that was over something that was not stated anywhere in tour operator/airline guidelines, just incorrectly applied by check-in staff.

Good luck.

Gooorooo

Can I suggest you contact Thomson Airlines as they are the one you will have trouble with, if any.

Ts and Cs of booking are binding and I suggest you look what these Ts and Cs exactly say with regards documentation required to travel.

I would also contact First Choice and ask them for a definitive answer in writing.

Mark

Ts and Cs of booking are binding.

Exactly Mark. Misinformation is dangerous.

First Choice's terms and conditions are here:

http://www.firstchoice.co.uk/fcsun/page/booking/tandc.page?lang=en&accommInvSys=FIRST_CHOICE&flightInvSys=FIRST_CHOICE&depDate=2009-09-10

They make no mention of visas but DO ask that you also adhere to their A-Z guide which is here:

http://www.firstchoice.co.uk/fcsun/page/common/atoz/atoz.page?businessContextid=17

On that they state the same as on the email they sent me:

Visas
The best place for up-to-date information on visa and travel advice is the Foreign Office. Visit http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel or call 0845 850 2829. There may be specific entry requirements for under-18s, depending on your destination. For example, if a young person is travelling without both parents, there may be extra costs and they may need extra legal documents such as an affidavit, from a notary public. Always check with the consulate or embassy of the country you're travelling to before you book.

If you haven't got a British passport, you'll need to check entry requirements with individual embassies or consulates.
Here are some key things we need to tell you about"¦

Egypt For information on Egyptian visas visit http://www.egyptianconsulate.co.uk or call the Egyptian Consulate on 0207 235 9777.

Turkey You'll need to buy a tourist visa when you arrive. You can expect to pay around £10 or €15 in cash for this.

United States You'll need to register for Electronic Travel Authority (ESTA) before you go. To apply, visit https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov. There'll be a charge of US$14.00 which you'll need to pay by card when you apply. Without ESTA authorisation you may not be allowed to board your flight, you could be delayed during security processing or denied entry into the United States. That said, these documents don't guarantee entry into the United States. As with most countries, immigration officials make the final decision. If you're denied entry, you'll still need to pay cancellation charges for your holiday as we explain in Your Agreement With Us. One other thing, if you're changing your name on your passport - for example, if you're getting married - it's best to register for ESTA using your maiden name if your new passport doesn't start until 72 hours before your departure. Otherwise, you may not get authorisation to travel.

There is NO specific mention of India. So, I will take the foreign office guidelines with me - which state you must have a visa, but do not state the duration of that visa.

guidelines

Sorry if I'm telling my granny to suck eggs, but 'guidelines' are only guidelines and are not necessarily proof of what's the actual situation. Do take as much back up as possible, but maybe it would be better to check directly with the embassy ... even a personal visit if you are able to ...

Note this from the Ts and Cs:

When you travel by air or by sea, your journey may be subject to certain international conventions such as the Warsaw Convention, Montreal Convention or Athens Convention. You agree that the transport company's own ‘Conditions of Carriage' will apply to you on that journey. When arranging this transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international conventions and those ‘Conditions of Carriage'. You acknowledge that all of these terms and conditions form part of your contract with us as well as with the transport company. You can ask us or the travel agent booking your holiday to provide you with a copy of any of the conditions applicable to your journey. We will tell you the identity of the air carrier when you book with us and if it is not known at that time or subsequently changes we will inform you as soon as possible and no later than at check-in for your flight.

Guessing it will be Thomson Airways, they say:

you do not appear to have valid travel documents, may seek to enter a country through which you may be in transit, or for which you do not have valid travel documents, destroyed your travel documents during flight or refuse to surrender your travel documents to the flight crew, against receipt, when so requested;

and:

You are responsible for obtaining all required travel documents and visas and for complying with all laws, regulations, orders, demands and travel requirements of countries to be flown from, into or through which you transit.

So I guess that provided you have complied with any laws applicable in Goa you may travel but I still urge that you get this in writing of First Choice.

Mark

Its up to you to make sure you have the correct visa i am afraid, not the travel agent.

They've got the correct Visas according to the officials of the country they are visiting. It's just that they are dealing with a company who issue misleading/inaccurate information and when asked for clarification don't read the query properly and just add more confusion. Typical response from any of the big Tour Ops.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gooroo

When the 3 month visa was issued was that an option you asked for or did you just give the dates of the holiday and that's what turned up? Because if it's the latter you can assume that everyone else on the flight will be in the same situation.

I selected three month visas. There is a choice of three or six month - but nothing I had read suggested we needed the six month visa and as we are only there for 10 days I thought a three month one would be sufficient.

That said - when you apply for a visa for India they request your travel dates so presumably they wouldn't issue you one that wouldn't cover you for those dates?

When the 3 month visa was issued was that an option you asked for or did you just give the dates of the holiday and that's what turned up? Because if it's the latter you can assume that everyone else on the flight will be in the same situation.

Not necessarliy, Steve.

Even though people ask for a 6 month visas, they may be granted a 3 month one.
Some people aak for a 6 month one and get it.
some people ask for a 3 month one and get a 6 month one.

On the Goa forum one guy said he and his wife had been issued with 3 month single entry visas but his 18 month old son had been given a 6 month multiple entry one!

I believe this is a cock-up by First Choice who've misinterpreted the visa situation.

AP1408 I *have* a correct visa according to the embassy - so the Indian government have no problem with me entering the country. That is not the issue. The issue is First Choice/Thomson's interpretation of what a correct visa is.

But like I said. I am beyond worrying now

II'd say virtually everyone else in the checkin queue will be in the same situation as you and they aren't going to refuse boarding to that many people. Just take the email from First Choice telling you to check with the Indian officals and a print of the screen from the visa info site. And, if checkin is in office hours, the phone number of the nearest Indian consulate or the High Commision in London.

Some people have said the airline has the right to vary visa conditions. WRONG! They may have the right to apply stupid and unnecessary rules for getting on their planes but never credit them with the right to interfere in the sovereign affairs of another country.

I've just looked at the email from First Choice. Although we emailed FC, the reply is actually from Thomson Airways - so that solves the problem of contacting the airline.

I have sent the following reply to her by email:

Dear H*,

Many thanks for your reply - but it doesn't really answer my question.

We have been assured by VFS/the Indian Embassy that our three month visas are valid for travel and that we will be granted entry into India. My concern, is that we will get to check in with Thomson and they will refuse to let us fly as *your* rules, according to your ticket booklet, are that we must have six month visas to travel. I must point out that at NO POINT during the booking process did First Choice mention a six month visa requirement - just that we would need a visa (no time limit stipulated).

Please confirm in writing that we will be allowed to fly on three month visas.

If we *are* able to travel on three month visas, I think perhaps TUI should think about rewording the booklet that comes with the tickets as this is causing us plenty of stress and could affect other passengers in the same way.

Kind regards
S*

Some people have said the airline has the right to vary visa conditions. WRONG! They may have the right to apply stupid and unnecessary rules for getting on their planes but never credit them with the right to interfere in the sovereign affairs of another country.

I don't know enough about the specifics of visa conditions re Goa to feel qualifed to comment directly on this individual situation but airlines can and do refuse you boarding if they have reason to believe that you might be refused entry on arrival at your destination. This is applied very rigidly by them when dealing with foreign nationals travelling to Britain because in that instance (and possibly with anybody refused entry elsewhere too because I think that US Immigration takes the same stance) they have to fly you back to the country you flew from at their expense - not yours - because the British Borders Agency takes the view that they should check these things before they allow you to board in the first place.

SM