Indian mission in UK probes illegal visa handlers

The Indian High Commission here has said that it is investigating reports of unauthorised agents illegally charging fees to get visas processed for travellers to India, amid reports of a severe visa crunch faced by British tourists to the country.

While British travellers booked to fly out to India in the coming weeks have been complaining of a lack of availability of visa slots to get their visas processed in time, the Indian mission on Friday alerted travellers to scams and stressed that it is working on streamlining processes.

It also dismissed claims in sections of the UK media that there had been a sudden visa rule change that had impacted British tourists and reiterated that individual visa applicants have always been expected to apply in person at the mission’s outsourced VFS Global centres in London.