Anticipating a huge demand for UK visas during the summer in India, the United Kingdom will allow Indian nationals applying for standard visitor visas in India to apply for visas three months prior to the expected date of travel. This was announced at a British event in Pune as the "Beat the Peak" campaign.
In effect, the UK government will allow applicants to postdate their visa requests by up to three months. This will also encourage people to apply for a visa during the lean months of January and February and the UK officials have indicated that this could reduce the visa processing times as well.
There is anecdotal evidence of people not being able to travel to the UK during summer breaks in schools because of the paucity of visas. This of course results in a potential economic loss for the UK.
For applicants applying early, standard visas (for business and tourism) will be dated one day before their planned date of departure. U.K. officials also stress that applicants are likely to experience quicker turnaround times now than they would during higher volume parts of the year.
Travel without a Visa to Hong Kong – But Indians must now register online before traveling to Hong Kong
Indian nationals are used to receiving a visa on arrival when travelling to Hong Kong allowing them a stay of up to 14 days. However, a newly introduced change requires Indian nationals to pre-register online before traveling to Hong Kong. Entry into Hong Kong may be denied if any traveler fails to do so
Indian nationals can still travel to Hong Kong without a visa and relying on visa-exempt status but must complete the preregistration process before travel. Indian nationals who are enrolled as frequent visitors with e-Channel permits are eligible to use the e-Channel service and are exempt from this new requirement. Also, it is important to remember that if travelers plan on staying longer than 14 days or participate in non-visitor activities, they must obtain a visa before leaving India.
The online process is very simple and does not take more than a few minutes. At the end of this process a notification slip is issued instantly. Travelers are required to print out the notification slip which must be presented to the airline when boarding and to immigration authorities upon arrival to a Hong Kong immigration officer. The registration is valid for six months and may be used for multiple entries.
Travelers may register at:
https://webapp.immd.gov.hk/content_ver2/indianparreg/html/english/declaration.html.
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