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British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis on Friday advised Indian travelers not to buy tickets until they get their visas as the approval is taking longer than expected. The UK expects a flood of Indian students to join its campuses this fall and the British HC is doing its best to ensure they get their visas by the deadline.
“Why is this (delay) happening? First, due to the unprecedented demand for UK visas post-Covid. Secondly, international events, especially the Russian invasion of Ukraine. What are we doing? We are putting more resources into this. We are training more people and opening up the priority visa service that many of you can use. You can help us by making sure you have the paperwork right,” he added.
“And my advice is to be on the safe side, don’t commit to your air tickets until you get your visa. We want to see an unprecedented number of Indian students come to the UK this year and we will do everything we can to make sure you get your visa on time. But again, follow the instructions to the letter,” the master diplomat said in a recorded video message posted on Twitter.
Post-pandemic, foreign missions in India have been swamped with visa applications due to reduced travel demand.
VFS Global COO (South Asia) Prabuddha Sen recently told The Times of India, “Unprecedented volume – an average of 20,000 to 23,000 visa applications from India every day given India’s travel demand.”
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