[amitoj]

Originally Posted by mobike008

First time in my life, missed an international flight.

Instead of London-Toronto. I went via. Halifax into Toronto and almost missed that flight as well, talk about cascading effect.

It was a day of panic, drama and outbursts

London airport and its people are reason for missing my flight. Anyone travelling via. HAA ensure you have a minimum of 3 hours for transit.

Btw, Dont ever travel by Air Canada as they are the worst airlines in the world from my experience.

Which flight did you miss?
And where are you now?

Yes 3 hours is the minimum required for a transit at Heathrow, inspite of the umpteen security check booths.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Which flight did you miss?
And where are you now?

I am right now in Toronto. I missed my Air Canada connecting flight to Toronto from London. Iam suspicious things are not going to well with the alliance of Jet Airways and Air Canada as they dont seem to care.

My flight from LHR was at 8:30am to Toronto and I was at queue to collect my boarding pass at 8:10am and bypassed a huge line citing "Transit Emergency" and even then the nasty lady behind counter didnt help saying plane is full and gates are closed.

Anyways, took a detour to Halifax and had a connection to Toronto with exactly one hour gap. Imagine doing my immigration, bag check-out and check-in 1 hour? Darn, getting out of the plane itself takes 15 mins

My trips usually are enventful but, this time it was filled with drama

[bond_bhai]

Originally Posted by Sha09mel

Questions are based on how strong your financial papers are (either yours or your company sponsoring you) if on a business visit. During my interview, only one question asked "Purpose of visit".



If they accept your application bio matrix is done on the spot and passport along with the visa is handed over immediately.

Originally Posted by volkman10

Normally no originals are asked for. The process is very simple and the passort with the Visa would be ready in the evening (if the interview is in the morning) or the next day.

Cheers!

Thanks Guys! Got our visas today. Interview was a mere formality. The whole process took 3days. There is no "Bio Matrix" in France Consulate Bangalore, so just 2-3 questions, we were out in 5mins!

[mayankk]

Hey!
Got UK as well as schengen today.
Heading out in 5 hours.
Thanks everyone!

[mjumrani]

Originally Posted by dmplog

Please note, the Visitor visa normally takes 10 working days. However, due to London Olympics, UK Embassy (and UK Home Office) is swamped with Visa applications. And it's simply not possible to get it in that timeframe. You should be looking at around 20-30 working days to get the visa at least. Please plan your travel accordingly.

Originally Posted by mayankk

Didja get yours?
My application went out on the 27th, and i received it yesterday.
10 minutes later i had applied for a schengen, belgium, and hopefully I should get it tomorrow morning.
If I do, the continent shall be visited(insert evil laugh??).
if not, then pain shall follow from the home front..... :(

Thanks for the info guys. Got the visa on Tuesday.

35 days UK trip awaits

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Is a transit visa required while flying via London Heathrow (LHR)? Some travel agents say it is not and some say it is.

I am planning to fly Chennai (MAS) -London Heathrow (LHR) -Frankfurt (FRA) on British Airways. The flight arrives and departs from the same terminal at Heathrow and the transit time is approximately 5 hours. Both flights are BA.

Anyone here who can give a concrete info on this? I tried calling BA contacts in India but without much help.

Spike

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Is a transit visa required while flying via London Heathrow (LHR)? Some travel agents say it is not and some say it is.

I am planning to fly Chennai (MAS) -London Heathrow (LHR) -Frankfurt (FRA) on British Airways. The flight arrives and departs from the same terminal at Heathrow and the transit time is approximately 5 hours. Both flights are BA.

Anyone here who can give a concrete info on this? I tried calling BA contacts in India but without much help.

Spike

You would not need a transit visa if you have confirmed tickets. I flew CCU-LHR-EWR back in 2007 and did not need one.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by blackasta

You would not need a transit visa if you have confirmed tickets. I flew CCU-LHR-EWR back in 2007 and did not need one.

Yeah, confirmed tickets. Consider a situation when-

a) layover time is more? I heard if layover time is more than 6 hours transit visa is required?

b) The terminals are changed, say flight arrives at terminal 5 and leaves at 6, then?

c) I guess if the person leaves the airport, the transit visa is required, irrespective of the number of hours right?

Spike

[blackasta]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Yeah, confirmed tickets. Consider a situation when-

a) layover time is more? I heard if layover time is more than 6 hours transit visa is required?

b) The terminals are changed, say flight arrives at terminal 5 and leaves at 6, then?

c) I guess if the person leaves the airport, the transit visa is required, irrespective of the number of hours right?

Spike

a. I do not think layover hours has to do anything with transit visa.

b & c. unless you are leaving the airport and try to clear immigration you do not need a visa - does not matter if you change terminals. Terminal changes should be inside the immigration sterile zone. May not be inside the security sterile zone though.

[vineetmanghani]

A question on Schengen visa: I have a Schengen business Visa expiring on 19th September, but I have an upcoming holiday to Europe on the 25th of September. Can I apply for another Schengen now, given that I already have a valid Schengen visa on my passport?

Thanks in advance
Vineet

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by vineetmanghani

A question on Schengen visa: I have a Schengen business Visa expiring on 19th September, but I have an upcoming holiday to Europe on the 25th of September. Can I apply for another Schengen now, given that I already have a valid Schengen visa on my passport?

Thanks in advance
Vineet

I think you can, and it would probably speed up the process too.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by vineetmanghani

A question on Schengen visa: I have a Schengen business Visa expiring on 19th September, but I have an upcoming holiday to Europe on the 25th of September. Can I apply for another Schengen now, given that I already have a valid Schengen visa on my passport?

Which is the country you intend to visit? Normally they do not in case you already have a valid one. But your dates seem pretty close. If you are applying for a French ( Schengen ) visa it would be okay as the visa process is done quickly but you should start the process now. Best is to ask some travel agents on this.


Cheers!

[vineetmanghani]

Thanks for the response guys. I have a German schengen visa currently. My port of entry is going to be Frankfurt for the holiday, so I will be going in for another German schengen visa. I have 2 previous French schengen visas also on my passport (if that makes any difference)

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by vineetmanghani

I have a German schengen visa currently. My port of entry is going to be Frankfurt for the holiday, so I will be going in for another German schengen visa

You can apply for another visa even with the current validity.
Mention in the covering letter on having a valid visa.


Cheers!

[vineetmanghani]

Thanks, that gives me some confidence. I'm not in India at the moment, will start the visa formalities as soon as I'm back.

Cheers
Vineet