Whilst many disagree with the six months advice/rule it is actually for their benefit. Should someone suffer injury/illness and be unable to travel back then if your passport/visa expired you could have all sorts of problems. Visa - Overstaying - Passport - you would not have a valid passport so you would be unable to travel. This also applies to members of the patients family who decided to stay with them. Just as with the T&Cs the rules are there for your protection.
It may be that the OP will have no problems but at least they are asking the questions before the event. All so often the problems we hear about are afterwards and requests for help in sorting out the mess.

fwh

SMa
Correct! Airlines can/should insist you comply with the visa rules set by the appropriate government - but they can't vary them as someone suggested. They might even say that you comply with government visa rules enough to cope with a few days delay just to be on the safe side, as FWH says, although 3 months extra is ridiculous! Anyway, being unable to travel back on the booked date would be a problem for the insurance company , not the airline. Oddly they don't insist you have visas for countries you are changing in but shouldn't be leaving the airport, even though that has caused all sorts of problems in the past when connections have been missed or cancelled.

But, whatever the circumstances, if the appropriate government says you have a valid visa for your trip then it is a valid visa.

But, whatever the circumstances, if the appropriate government says you have a valid visa for your trip then it is a valid visa.

I agree wholeheartedly, Steve - but that's not going to help if the person on check-in has been told only to allow passengers with SIX month visas to check-in for the flight.

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.

I've already said that (as a long time visitor to Goa and long time poster on the HT and TA Goa forums) that I know that the majority of people are issued with 6 month multiple entry visas, so I don't believe that virtually everyone else in the check-in queue will have 3 month visas same as Gooorooo.

I've already advised Gooorooo to check with VFS (who handle the issue of Indian visas on behalf of the India High Commission) for a definitive WRITTEN answer to this question and also to keep checking with the airline for a definitive answer.

Historically, Tour Operators and charter airlines have been very poor in keeping up with the many changes that frequently happen with the Indian visa process.
In fact several years ago, Olympic Holidays were showing incorrect information about how to obtain a visa for months after I'd emailed them half a dozen times to tell them they were wrong.

Panic over. I've received another reply from Thomson Airways which has put my mind at rest. I will print it out and take it with us to check in, just in case. Here's what they said:

Thank you for your further email regarding your visas for travel to Goa.



I can advise that a visa must be applied for prior to departure from the High Commission of India. Visa can be applied for in person from the India Visa Application Centres. For more information please visit http://hcilondon.in/visa.php. Our systems do not advise any restriction on the amount of time the visa is required for; however I can advise that this must cover the duration of your holiday. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after your return to the UK.



I would like to advise that the authorisation to enter a country with a visa is not something that is given by us; it is something that is given by immigration control on arrival.



Once again thank you for taking the time to contact Thomson Airways. If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me again. I do hope that you have a most enjoyable holiday,



Kind regards

result.

Now start looking forward to your holiday, have a great trip.

Thanks Judith

Phew - and now - relax, (you can breathe out now Gooroo )

Gooorooo

Result!!!!!!

Thanks guys. I am relieved - mostly because it's stopped my husband stressing out!

Just over three weeks to go!

That's great news, Gooorooo.

As I said in my reply to you on the Goa forum, I think First Choice just got it wrong, either picking up from the VFS site that "Tourist visas may be valid for 6 months to 1 year with single or multiple entries" or they mixed up the requirement to have 6 months validity on your passport when you apply for a visa with requiring a valid visa to enter India.

Whatever the reason for the mix-up, it's obvious that First Choice are sending out documentation that contains incorrect information that is clearly worrying customers. I hope they act swiftly to correct this.

AND well done to Thomson for replying back quickly with the right answer!

Congrats to Gooorooo for getting this sorted.

I've been watching the thread with interest because I too am off to Goa in 3 weeks, my booking is with Portland (ie again Thomson Airways) and my ticket booklet states " You'll need a minimum six month visa to get into India".
My interpretation of that was, as it has been previous years,
"you need a visa, they last at least six months"
I hadn't looked at it the way the O.P. did.
So thanks - I'll print out the info you got and carry it with me just in case.

I've got another issue now though. Every year for the last six years I've gone I always requested, and got, a 6 month visa. I've never ever been offered the option of a 3 month one!
I don't think the on-line form provides that either.
However - this year I noticed it offered me the option of a 12 month visa for an extra twenty quid - so I went for that, thinking I could go back to India maybe in December on this same visa.
But I've now been waiting and watching the tracking system for more than a week, and my visa is still "in process", despite the standard application time for personal applications to Edinburgh being stated to be 3 working days.
Have I asked for something that I'm not going to get? Or worse - am I going to have to start again and resubmit? If that happens timing for my holiday is going to be very tight!

UKBill
if you read trhe 'Visa' thread on the Goa board you'll see that a number of people have been issued with a 3 month visa even if they requested a 6 month one.
This seems to happen mostly to those people who've needed an employer letter with their application but can also be randomly other people.

I think (also as a long time visitor to Goa and frequent poster on the HT & TA Goa forums) that the issue of a 1 year visa is very rare.
I did read of one person who applied and paid for a 1 year visa but was issued with a 6 month one (without explantion) and no refund of the additional £20.

Re the '3 working days', I've also read that they are running slow at Edinburgh so I wouldn't worry just yet.

Edit to the above post:
UKBill
D'ya know, I KNEW I'd seen something about delays at Edinburgh somewhere recently and I've just seen THIS post on the Goa Visa thread from yourself:

I just dropped off my visa application by hand yesterday to the Edinburgh VFS. They told me that things are running rather more slowly than usual and that I should expect a delay of between 8 and 10 working days before I can collect it. Postal takes a little longer than that at present I'm told.

If you dropped your application off on 1st Feb and were told to expect between 8 & 10 working days, that will take you to 10th Feb at the very earliest (assuming you count the day you dropped your application off as 'Day 1' and that there have been no public holidays) so I wouldn't start panicking just yet (apart from your maybe lost £20).

I've just seen THIS post on the Goa Visa thread from yourself

Well spotted prettypolly - however, it doesn't stop one worrying (like everyone else seems to) when the already booked fairly expensive holiday could turn to dust if the vital visa doesn't arrive.

My more recent post was based on faint hope/worry, having looked again at the standard processing time info on the VFS website which says "Applications submitted in London, Birmingham and Edinburgh will take minimum 2 to 3 working days to get processed"
- but then noting on another part of the same website than deals with individual centres (the "jurisdiction" bit) that Edinburgh seems to be a centre which now doesn't quote any minimum turnaround, whereas, for example, Glasgow and Cardiff do.

My aiming for the 12 month visa rather than six this time, was based upon a verbal comment from staff at the Edinburgh centre when I applied for my 2010 visa last year that, if applicants have had six visas previously, there was a likelihood - though not definite - that they would be granted a twelve month one next time.
I posted that comment way back last year on HT as well.

And this is my seventh Indian Visa - so I went for it.

Hopefully it will get processed in time, and hopefully the extra twenty quid will not be wasted.
But until the tracking application says "OK, come and collect" - I'm probably going to continue worrying....

UKBill
I can't see the bit about Edinburgh on the 'jurisdiction' bit that you mention.
I can see under 'processing time' that it says 2-3 working days for Edinburgh.
That statement has been on the website for ages (maybe since it was designed) but it does say that it is only an estimate of processing times.

But you have had it from the 'horse's mouth' that there is a delay at that particular centre, so whatever it says on the website doesn't really matter.
At the beginning of the season postal applications were taking much longer than the stated 10 working days - but it still said '10 working days' on the VFS website.

I can't help you worrying - but I personally think it's not worth it given what you were told when you handed your applications in.

I'd be very interested to hear whether you got a 1 year visa when it does turn up.

As we're back now I thought I'd just let you know that there was no problem at check in or the boarding gate and I didn't have to show the email from Thomson in the end