Finally a visa center in Bangalore. Yay! Experience was pretty ok though. A lil' unorganized & confusing. Got my visa in 10 days.
I applied for family visitor but the lady at the counter said i qualify for a general visitor. Duh.. apparently my husbands sister isn't my family she said; as we are not related by blood. Whateva!!
Documents:
Numbers are counters. Alphabets is the path. A to G is the order.
Appointment:
Arrive 10 minutes before the appointment. They will check all your bags & send you in. You enter into this long hall at (A). You are given a seat (B). A lady/sir who's at the door randomly picks you and directs you to counter 8/9/10 (C). Here you show the application & the confirmation page and your passport. If there's anything missing or anything else needed they send you back. After this you are asked to seat a lil' farther in the room (D). They call you to counters 1/2/3/4/5/6. Here the actual interview takes place (E). But its Indians taking interview unlike US visas. Here the documents are handed over and they ask few questions. They taken in all documents and do not promise the issuance of visa. They ask money for sms alerts (Rs 125) & courier services (Rs 300). Sms alerts were useless i felt. Then you are sent to counter 11/12 for finger printing (F). The entire process takes about 45 mins plus. You exit at (G).
Tips:
I applied for family visitor but the lady at the counter said i qualify for a general visitor. Duh.. apparently my husbands sister isn't my family she said; as we are not related by blood. Whateva!!
Documents:
- Appt confirmation letter
- Complete Application
- 2 UK size passports (I got them at GK Vale. They charged Rs 130 and they new the dimensions/measument etc)
- Passport copy
- Visa copy
- Letter from family/work inviting you
- Employer letter
- Trip itenary
- Wedding certificate
- Bank statements
- W2 (tax forms)
- Fee payment (About Rs 8000)
- Travel consent for babies/kids
Numbers are counters. Alphabets is the path. A to G is the order.
Appointment:
Arrive 10 minutes before the appointment. They will check all your bags & send you in. You enter into this long hall at (A). You are given a seat (B). A lady/sir who's at the door randomly picks you and directs you to counter 8/9/10 (C). Here you show the application & the confirmation page and your passport. If there's anything missing or anything else needed they send you back. After this you are asked to seat a lil' farther in the room (D). They call you to counters 1/2/3/4/5/6. Here the actual interview takes place (E). But its Indians taking interview unlike US visas. Here the documents are handed over and they ask few questions. They taken in all documents and do not promise the issuance of visa. They ask money for sms alerts (Rs 125) & courier services (Rs 300). Sms alerts were useless i felt. Then you are sent to counter 11/12 for finger printing (F). The entire process takes about 45 mins plus. You exit at (G).
Tips:
- Really no use arriving too early. 10 minutes is perfect.
- Carry cash.
- There's a cyber nearby (i heard) and a xerox machine in the same building only (Rs 2 per xerox)
- They themselves have less knowledge i felt so be patient.
- They have fast track visa which they give in 4 days. Charge is Rs 12000. If you give Rs 2500, then they will fasten your process in this room as well. So instead of all the counters, you just have to visit counter 13. :) (Money making techniques)
- All the best.
