Planning foreign travel? Travellers advised not to buy tickets as visa delays wreck plans
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Those planning a trip to the UK, Canada, US or the Schengen states are advised not to buy travel tickets until getting the requisite visa approval from these countries in view of massive approval delays.
Britain’s High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis on Friday advised Indian travellers not to buy tickets until they get their visas as approvals take longer than anticipated. The UK expects a deluge of Indian students to join campuses this fall and the British HC is doing everything it can to ensure they get their visas in a time-bound manner.
“A lot of you have been in touch about visa delays. Many apologies, as I know this is causing a lot of problems… I want to apologise to everyone who has been affected by this and the distress which it gives you,” Ellis said on Friday.
“Why is this (delays) happening? Firstly, because of unprecedented surge in a demand for UK visas post-Covid. Secondly, because of global events, particularly the Russian invasion of Ukraine. What are we doing about it? We are putting more resources into this. We are training more people and we are keeping open the priority visa service, which many of you can use. You can help us by making sure you have the paperwork right,” he added.
“And my advice is don’t commit to your air tickets until you have got your visa to be on the safe side. We want to see an unprecedented number of Indian students coming to the UK this year and we will do everything we can to make sure that you get your visa on time. But again, follow the guidance to the letter,” the teacher-turned-diplomat said in a recorded video message posted on Twitter.
Travel agents say the average processing time for a UK visa is 2 months currently.
Post-pandemic foreign missions in India are overwhelmed with visa applications due to pent up travel demand.
VFS Global COO (South Asia) Prabuddha Sen had recently told Times of India that it is “experiencing unprecedented volumes — between 20,000 to 23,000 visa applications daily on an average from India given the pent-up travel demand.”
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