[jacobvarughese]

I got my Spanish visa endorsed on my passport yesterday after applying the day before albeit they stated the timeframe for processing of all Schengen visa applications is a minimum of 15 working days. I was in the US till early last week, and prodded my Travel Agent to ask the Spanish consulate in Mumbai whether I could submit it- the Consulate responded in the affirmative, and we booked an appointment day before in Mumbai.

I plan to visit Barcelona only for 3 days as a part of a business leadership meeting, and they've endorsed a month's validity with multiple entries.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by hserus

Most consulates / embassies will account for that, or for any other sudden illness, work emergency etc that makes you postpone travel for a day or two, by giving you a visa that has a buffer of three or four days or often one week after you are scheduled to leave the country.



So it is up to you to plan your travel carefully to ensure you don't over extend your visa stay. If you do over extend and the airline isn't cooperative or the immigration people aren't cooperative, its your neck on the line not the airline's

If you're well travelled, possibly this may happen. But irrespective of this, the Schengen boys tend to stick to the itinerary dates, without allowing buffers.

[dailydriver]

Forgive me for being a little flippant on a very serious thread.

But just in case all efforts to secure the desired Visas fail to bear fruit, I am given to understand that there is a special entry option routed through the following exit points located in different parts of the country. Please have a look.

Visa Balaji Temple, Chilkur

Aeroplane Gurudwara, Talhan

Khadia Hanuman Temple, Ahmadabad

Visa wale Chamatkari Hanumanji Temple, Neb Serai

Visa Anjaneyar Temple, Chennai

Visa Ganapathi Temple, Pazhavanthagal

As and when your Visa's get approved through any of the aforementioned divine embassies, please don't forget to offer a prayer for me too .

PS: I am neither a believer nor a beneficiary of the above. The intention of this post is to inform and not to mislead.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Forgive me for being a little flippant on a very serious thread.


As and when your Visa's get approved through any of the aforementioned divine embassies, please don't forget to offer a prayer for me too .



PS: I am neither a believer nor a beneficiary of the above. The intention of this post is to inform and not to mislead.

The lure of 'phoren' continues for us average Indians.

We cant all be Ambani or Adani or Tata or Birla or Bansal or Satya Nadella or Sundar Pichai...

[Raghav_K]

I'm having a Tourist visa interview at US Embassy - Chennai tomorrow. The instructions say to not reach the Embassy 15 minutes prior to interview slot.

Is 15 minutes enough? I usually see a queue standing outside embassy in the mornings.

[jacobvarughese]

Originally Posted by Raghav_K

I'm having a Tourist visa interview at US Embassy - Chennai tomorrow. The instructions say to not reach the Embassy 15 minutes prior to interview slot.

Is 15 minutes enough? I usually see a queue standing outside embassy in the mornings.

Yep, this should be more than enough- to be honest, you wouldn't be allowed in until your stipulated time. Please ensure you don't carry electronic items as these are not let inside.

All the best with your interview ! My spouse and 2 small kids got their visas approved in April and there were minimal questions asked.

[Raghav_K]

Thanks! I went 10 minutes before the biometric appointment and got done in no time.

I got confused by some online forums/reviews of the embassy on google maps, telling to reach an hour early because of the huge queue. Some had even suggested to go by 9am irrespective of interview timing!!!

[jacobvarughese]

Nothwithstanding the serpentine queue, just inform the VFS staff that your appointed time of interview is 15 minutes later and they'd just ask you to join the top of the line. T

[Raghav_K]

Thank you! I will do that!
Fingers crossed! Will revert here how it went , tomorrow

[Raghav_K]

Update: The visa process was smooth, took less than an hour, and our visas were approved Thanks for the help, jacob.

Mods: Please merge, as I'm unable to edit the previous post!

[jacobvarughese]

Many Congratulations Raghav. Have a nice time !

[SILVERWOOD]

I had applied for Australian Tourist Visa for my family 6 weeks before and and it is yet to come.

I was supposed to travel on 27th September 2017 and i got a call from the High Commission at 4pm on 27th September 2017.I was informed that my Visa application is on hold as they have not received internal clearance from Australia and my wife and kids are good to go and they decided not to go without me.

I lost all my money as the tickets were non refundable. I had booked tickets from Sydney-Goldcoast as well and they were non refundable as well.

Note to self-Do not get carried away by these lucrative offers on low cost airlines.

People who are desirous of travelling to Australia on tourist Visa should apply 3 months before their travel date.One can apply directly with the high commission and need not go through VFS of any travel agent as well.

Online lodgement of visitor visa applications is the most convenient and fastest option available to nationals of India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1...e-applications

Waseem.

[jayded]

Originally Posted by SILVERWOOD

I had applied for Australian Tourist Visa for my family 6 weeks before and and it is yet to come.
...

I lost all my money as the tickets were non refundable. I had booked tickets from Sydney-Goldcoast as well and they were non refundable as well.

Note to self-Do not get carried away by these lucrative offers on low cost airlines.

I had faced a similar situation in May where my wife & I had applied for a tourist visa to Australia on April 11th and had booked flights for May 17th night. We were sure we would get the Visa by then since the previous year, we got it granted in 10 days flat. However the overall processing times have increased and after multiple calls and follow-ups, got the Visa granted 10 hours before our flight time. We decided to postpone the trip by couple of weeks instead since it was too rushed at the end and we were not really prepared for that kind of thing especially since it was meant to be a leisure holiday. We had booked our flights on Cathay Pacific and that's the good thing we did. The tickets were rescheduled to two weeks later at around 11K for both combined. We had not really checked if the tickets were refundable at the time of booking, but were really glad we booked Cathay though there were cheaper options like Air Asia and Thai, which we later learned, were non-refundable.

VFS is a good option to verify if you're submitting all required documents etc. They are absolutely useless when it comes to conveying the status of your application once it reached the Australian High Commission. They have only one info to give you if asked, which is "Your application is under process and you'll have to wait". They have no clue about anything else.

Hope you get your Visa soon and enjoy your vacation. All the best.

[drhoneycake]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Schengen Visas are always nowadays issued in this manner irrespective of one's travel history or any other consideration.
Probably because of the refugee crisis and general lack of trust in people from poor third world countries.

Is this really true sir ??? I ask because when my wife and I had applied to the Swiss Embassy (VFS Bengaluru) for our Europe Trip in November 2016, hers was an unused passport while I had travelled to Europe prior multiple times while I was studying in the UK. Also have a US Visa stamp (though never travelled), have travelled to numerous other countries in Asia and the gulf, so I have amassed quite a few stamps in my passport. On a side note: Processing was prompt and fast, received the visa in 5 days flat.

My wife received the visa with the exact number of days (and single entry) mentioned in the itinerary and I received the Visa with 90 days and multiple entry.

So, I feel travel history is still an important criterion for embassy officials to grant visas, especially considering how strict the UK and Schengen are when it comes to Visas.

[drhoneycake]

Guys a small query.

Me and my wife are planning to visit the UK this year end and I was just preparing all the documents for the VISA Process. I lived in the UK before with a student visa. Applying for a Visitor Visa this time and I'm a little confused with the list of documents for "employment".

I'm a Doctor and have my own practice (sole proprietor). I have 3 years of IT returns, 6 months bank statements, property papers, my clinic's rental agreement, KMC Registration and my educational documents. I also have a letter from my CA confirming my self employment status.

What else do I need to prove "Self Employment" ??? What other documents can I submit for the same ???

HELP!!