CHANDIGARH: Some have paid their tuition fees, others have their acceptance letters in their hands. But now hundreds of Indian students may not be able to study in the UK thanks to a sudden decision to temporarily stop accepting student visa applications at its three centres in north India.
As there is no guarantee of getting their tuition fees back, which students have already paid in some cases, the fear of losing lakhs of rupees is looming over their head.
"The admissions process is an arrangement only between the student and the college and we cannot intervene. However we hope that genuine colleges will understand this situation but we cannot play any role in it," Nigel Casey, British deputy high commissioner, said.
This indefinite suspension, put in force from Monday, was the direct result of a 10-time increase in student visa applications during the period October to December 2009, at three visa application centres of Chandigarh, Jalandhar and New Delhi.
Last year, 13,500 applications were received during this period whereas only 1,800 and 1,200 were received in 2008 and 2007, respectively.
"We will again review the situation by the end of this month. Then depending on our evaluation, we will decide when to resume accepting applications again," said Casey.
Casey said that this suspension was necessary to scrutinize the situation and to save genuine applicants as there were some cases where people were abusing the student visa norms.
"Some unscrupulous agents mislead youth by telling them that they can easily attain PR (permanent residency) through student visas, which is totally wrong," he pointed out.
As per official records, Britain's visa operation in India is its largest in the world.
Showing posts with label visa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label visa. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
US mission alerts citizens about new Indian visa rules
Mumbai: The US Mission in India wishes to inform US citizens that the Government of India is implementing new regulations that affect visa holders, periods of authorized stay, and registration in India. The US Embassy and Consulates in India have received reports from individuals about inconsistent implementation of the new rules, which have not been widely publicized and are subject to change.
The revised regulations primarily affect travelers, who wish to enter India within two months of their last departure from India. To date, these changes have mostly affected tourist (T) visa holders, but the US Mission has also received reports pertaining to other visa types. Initial information from the Government of India indicated that revised visa regulations would primarily affect travelers with tourist visas, who had been in India for more than 90 days before travel abroad or more than 180 days in the past year. However, the US Mission has received confirmation that foreign passports are now stamped on exit to indicate that the bearer cannot re-enter India within two months of exit unless special permission is obtained from an Indian Embassy, Consulate, or High Commission abroad, regardless of the validity of visa or length of stay in India. Travelers have reported being denied re-entry after exiting India for business or family emergencies, or for tourist travel to nearby countries, even if their initial visit to India was for only a few days. Prior guidance and procedures that allowed re-entry to India after stays of up to 180 days are no longer in effect.
Some Americans entering or re-entering India on tourist visas have been instructed at the port of entry to register with the local Foreigners Registration Office (FRO). The procedures and requirements for registration can be complex. Travelers are advised to follow directions as stipulated on their visas regarding registration procedures, irrespective of their visa category.
Here are some examples of problems Americans have had trying to navigate the recent visa changes:
One American family, visiting India on ten-year, multiple entry tourist visas for several weeks, had to return briefly to the US to attend a funeral. They were not permitted to re-enter India. Another American family, taking a side trip to Sri Lanka from India, was told that they needed to apply for permission to re-enter India at the Indian High Commission in Colombo. An American on a business visa had plans for his children, who are attending a university in the US to visit him in India during their school holiday. His children entered on tourist visas, stayed three days in India, and were informed upon their departure for a side trip to Thailand that they would not be allowed to re-enter to continue the rest of their planned vacation with their family. One American in India on a business visa was informed that she would not be allowed to depart India until she had registered with the Foreign Registration Office (FRO), even though she had only been in India for seven days and her passport was stamped "Registration not required if stay is less than 14 days."
These new visa and registration regulations are being implemented inconsistently and are not finalized. American citizens traveling to, or departing from India are urged to review travel plans in light of these changing procedures and to contact the nearest Indian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate overseas (http://goidirectory. nic.in/missions.htm) or the nearest Foreigners Registra-tion Office in India (http://www.immigrationindia.nic.in/) to determine proper procedures to follow.
US citizens living or traveling abroad are encouraged to register with the nearest US Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration Web site at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/ so that they can obtain updated information on travel and security. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest US Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. For additional information, please refer to "A Safe Trip Abroad" found at http://travel.state .gov.
For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Internet Web site at http://travel. state.gov where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings, and Travel Alerts can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States and Canada or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except US federal holidays). Americans are also encouraged to read the Country Specific Information for India, available on the Embassy’s Web site at
http://newdelhi.usembassy .gov, and also at http://travel .state.gov.
US citizens may contact the American Citizens Services Unit of the Embassy or the Consulates General for further information:
— The US Embassy in New Delhi is located at Shanti Path, Chanakya Puri 110021; telephone +91-11-2419-8000; fax +91-11-2419-8407. The Embassy’s Internet home page address is http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov.
— The US Consulate General in Mumbai (Bombay) is located at Lincoln House, 78 Bhulabhai Desai Road, 400026, telephone +91-22-2363-3611; fax +91-22-2363-0350. The Internet home page address is http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov.
— The US Consulate General in Chennai (Madras) is at 220 Anna Salai, Gemini Circle, 600006, telephone +91-44-2857-4000; fax +91-44-2811-2027. The Internet home page address is http://chennai.usconsulate .gov.
— The US Consulate General in Kolkata (Calcutta) is at 5/1 Ho Chi Minh Sarani, 700071; telephone +91-33-3984-2400; fax +91-33-2282-2335. The Internet home page address is http://kolkata .usconsulate.gov.
— The US Consulate General in Hyderabad is at Paigah Palace, 1-8-323, Chiran Fort Lane, Begumpet, Secunderabad 500 003; telephone: +91 (40) 4033-8300. The Internet home page address is http://hyderabad .usconsulate.gov.
The revised regulations primarily affect travelers, who wish to enter India within two months of their last departure from India. To date, these changes have mostly affected tourist (T) visa holders, but the US Mission has also received reports pertaining to other visa types. Initial information from the Government of India indicated that revised visa regulations would primarily affect travelers with tourist visas, who had been in India for more than 90 days before travel abroad or more than 180 days in the past year. However, the US Mission has received confirmation that foreign passports are now stamped on exit to indicate that the bearer cannot re-enter India within two months of exit unless special permission is obtained from an Indian Embassy, Consulate, or High Commission abroad, regardless of the validity of visa or length of stay in India. Travelers have reported being denied re-entry after exiting India for business or family emergencies, or for tourist travel to nearby countries, even if their initial visit to India was for only a few days. Prior guidance and procedures that allowed re-entry to India after stays of up to 180 days are no longer in effect.
Some Americans entering or re-entering India on tourist visas have been instructed at the port of entry to register with the local Foreigners Registration Office (FRO). The procedures and requirements for registration can be complex. Travelers are advised to follow directions as stipulated on their visas regarding registration procedures, irrespective of their visa category.
Here are some examples of problems Americans have had trying to navigate the recent visa changes:
One American family, visiting India on ten-year, multiple entry tourist visas for several weeks, had to return briefly to the US to attend a funeral. They were not permitted to re-enter India. Another American family, taking a side trip to Sri Lanka from India, was told that they needed to apply for permission to re-enter India at the Indian High Commission in Colombo. An American on a business visa had plans for his children, who are attending a university in the US to visit him in India during their school holiday. His children entered on tourist visas, stayed three days in India, and were informed upon their departure for a side trip to Thailand that they would not be allowed to re-enter to continue the rest of their planned vacation with their family. One American in India on a business visa was informed that she would not be allowed to depart India until she had registered with the Foreign Registration Office (FRO), even though she had only been in India for seven days and her passport was stamped "Registration not required if stay is less than 14 days."
These new visa and registration regulations are being implemented inconsistently and are not finalized. American citizens traveling to, or departing from India are urged to review travel plans in light of these changing procedures and to contact the nearest Indian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate overseas (http://goidirectory. nic.in/missions.htm) or the nearest Foreigners Registra-tion Office in India (http://www.immigrationindia.nic.in/) to determine proper procedures to follow.
US citizens living or traveling abroad are encouraged to register with the nearest US Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration Web site at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/ so that they can obtain updated information on travel and security. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest US Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. For additional information, please refer to "A Safe Trip Abroad" found at http://travel.state .gov.
For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Internet Web site at http://travel. state.gov where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings, and Travel Alerts can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States and Canada or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except US federal holidays). Americans are also encouraged to read the Country Specific Information for India, available on the Embassy’s Web site at
http://newdelhi.usembassy .gov, and also at http://travel .state.gov.
US citizens may contact the American Citizens Services Unit of the Embassy or the Consulates General for further information:
— The US Embassy in New Delhi is located at Shanti Path, Chanakya Puri 110021; telephone +91-11-2419-8000; fax +91-11-2419-8407. The Embassy’s Internet home page address is http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov.
— The US Consulate General in Mumbai (Bombay) is located at Lincoln House, 78 Bhulabhai Desai Road, 400026, telephone +91-22-2363-3611; fax +91-22-2363-0350. The Internet home page address is http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov.
— The US Consulate General in Chennai (Madras) is at 220 Anna Salai, Gemini Circle, 600006, telephone +91-44-2857-4000; fax +91-44-2811-2027. The Internet home page address is http://chennai.usconsulate .gov.
— The US Consulate General in Kolkata (Calcutta) is at 5/1 Ho Chi Minh Sarani, 700071; telephone +91-33-3984-2400; fax +91-33-2282-2335. The Internet home page address is http://kolkata .usconsulate.gov.
— The US Consulate General in Hyderabad is at Paigah Palace, 1-8-323, Chiran Fort Lane, Begumpet, Secunderabad 500 003; telephone: +91 (40) 4033-8300. The Internet home page address is http://hyderabad .usconsulate.gov.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
5000 disenfranchised Indians can return to UK
LONDON: At least 5,000 Indians, disenfranchised by the UK's recent diktats on immigration policy that forced them to return to the mother country, are to be allowed to re-enter Britain, in the latest twist in the two-year-old wrangle over holders of Highly-Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP ) visas.
The British government published its new guidelines on the rights available to non-European immigrant workers on Wednesday. The guidelines offer full protection to non-European holders of HSMP visas, of whom at least 30,000 are estimated to be Indian.
Amit Kapadia, director of the non-profit campaigning organization HSMP Forum Ltd, told TOI the British government "had finally played fair with non-European workers, but then they had no choice".
Kapadia and the HSMP Forum Ltd, who led a long and tortuous 14-month-long campaign for equal rights, worsted the British government in early April when the High Court in London decisively ruled the immigration changes "unlawful" and a rank "abuse of (administrative) power".
The High Court judgement dismissed the UK government's argument that it was in the "public interest...the national interest" retrospectively to apply changes to HSMP visas.
The April ruling, by Judge Sir George Newman, meant that Britain would be forced to grant entry, residence and/or settlement to non-European Union nationals who entered the UK under the 2002 HSMP rules.
Accordingly, the British government has now decreed a fresh look at categories of non-European migrants, including Indian and other non-European HSMP visa-holders forced to leave the UK after the new, restrictive guidelines were put in place in November 2006.
Kapadia said the government's "new Policy Guidance covers migrants who were admitted under the HSMP scheme before 5th December 2006. Various categories of migrants are covered under the policy including those who were refused extension under the unlawful rules, those migrants who did not apply for extension and migrants who have either switched immigration categories to more restrictive visa regimes or those who left the UK".
In November 2006, the British government introduced a new, retrospectively-imposed Points-Based System, which effectively disenfranchised large swathes of the 49,000 non-Europeans who successfully entered the UK under the scheme between January 2002 and late 2006.
The HSMP Forum said it was "delighted to have achieved our objective in fighting the manifest injustice of retrospectively applied legislation".
Commentators said the extent of British government unbending could be gauged from the fact the new guidelines decreed that non-European "migrants whose extensions were refused after the November 2006 unlawful changes will not have to pay application fee again for a review of the decision under the old criteria".
Additionally, Indian HSMP visa-holders forced to leave the UK earlier this year, after the new rules were stringently implemented, will be allowed back without fuss. They can also offset the length of their India sojourn against the HSMP visa requirements leading to full and permanent settlement in the UK.
Kapadia said the British government had admittedly done everything it could to facilitate the return of non-European HSMP visa-holders. But he added, "they had no choice. We had told them we would take them to court otherwise".
The British government published its new guidelines on the rights available to non-European immigrant workers on Wednesday. The guidelines offer full protection to non-European holders of HSMP visas, of whom at least 30,000 are estimated to be Indian.
Amit Kapadia, director of the non-profit campaigning organization HSMP Forum Ltd, told TOI the British government "had finally played fair with non-European workers, but then they had no choice".
Kapadia and the HSMP Forum Ltd, who led a long and tortuous 14-month-long campaign for equal rights, worsted the British government in early April when the High Court in London decisively ruled the immigration changes "unlawful" and a rank "abuse of (administrative) power".
The High Court judgement dismissed the UK government's argument that it was in the "public interest...the national interest" retrospectively to apply changes to HSMP visas.
The April ruling, by Judge Sir George Newman, meant that Britain would be forced to grant entry, residence and/or settlement to non-European Union nationals who entered the UK under the 2002 HSMP rules.
Accordingly, the British government has now decreed a fresh look at categories of non-European migrants, including Indian and other non-European HSMP visa-holders forced to leave the UK after the new, restrictive guidelines were put in place in November 2006.
Kapadia said the government's "new Policy Guidance covers migrants who were admitted under the HSMP scheme before 5th December 2006. Various categories of migrants are covered under the policy including those who were refused extension under the unlawful rules, those migrants who did not apply for extension and migrants who have either switched immigration categories to more restrictive visa regimes or those who left the UK".
In November 2006, the British government introduced a new, retrospectively-imposed Points-Based System, which effectively disenfranchised large swathes of the 49,000 non-Europeans who successfully entered the UK under the scheme between January 2002 and late 2006.
The HSMP Forum said it was "delighted to have achieved our objective in fighting the manifest injustice of retrospectively applied legislation".
Commentators said the extent of British government unbending could be gauged from the fact the new guidelines decreed that non-European "migrants whose extensions were refused after the November 2006 unlawful changes will not have to pay application fee again for a review of the decision under the old criteria".
Additionally, Indian HSMP visa-holders forced to leave the UK earlier this year, after the new rules were stringently implemented, will be allowed back without fuss. They can also offset the length of their India sojourn against the HSMP visa requirements leading to full and permanent settlement in the UK.
Kapadia said the British government had admittedly done everything it could to facilitate the return of non-European HSMP visa-holders. But he added, "they had no choice. We had told them we would take them to court otherwise".
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Visa rules for US tourists to change
Visa regulations for American tourists wishing to visit India may soon be changed requiring them to take a 60-day break between each exit from India and re-entry. Indian security agencies are said to have pushed for the break following revelations about the activities of David Headley, the US citizen with alleged links with the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, who was arrested in October. Investigations have shown that Headley was in and out of India repeatedly using tourist visas for two years before the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai last year, during which he reconnoitered many of the spots attacked by the terrorists on 26/11. Details of precisely which categories of tourists will be affected, when and how, are not yet clear.
A message from the United States Mission in India to American citizens in the country on Wednesday, said: "The government of India is reviewing its regulations pertaining to the entry of American citizens holding long-term Indian tourist visas. To date, these new regulations are not finalized and are being implemented inconsistently. ...It is clear that the rules will only affect those who wish to enter India on a tourist visa within two months of their last departure from India," it added.
A message from the United States Mission in India to American citizens in the country on Wednesday, said: "The government of India is reviewing its regulations pertaining to the entry of American citizens holding long-term Indian tourist visas. To date, these new regulations are not finalized and are being implemented inconsistently. ...It is clear that the rules will only affect those who wish to enter India on a tourist visa within two months of their last departure from India," it added.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)