Things to consider before visiting UK from India- My trip to Manchester, UK via Abu Dhabi UAE

If it's your first international trip then this post may help your plannings. I went to Manchester, UK sponsored by #unitedbyhcl hackathon: https://www.hackerearth.com/sprints/unitedbyhcl-finals/participants/#participants (team: hodor) for the project Brain Game Simulator, this was my life's first flight & yeah! first international trip to UK.

Getting Indian Passport & UK Visit VISA

• 1. Getting Passport in Digital India nowadays is very easy if you are living in some urban/metro cities but if your permanent address is a remote area or far from capital city of your state then please keep at least 15-20 days in Normal Passport if you have connections & contacts else it can take up to 30days. But if you are in a metro city then a maximum of 2-3 days in Normal Passport. Documents- Address Proof: Adhar ID, DOB Proof: SSC/HSC Marksheet, 3 out of 17 Docs: PAN/Voter/Driving Card/Any ID with a photo on it & keep Xerox & original copies of all at RPO of your interview venue. Details of how/where to apply visit: http://www.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/welcomeLink
• 2. Getting VISA of any country is something like you can go to any consultancy, pay them heavy amount but anyhow they also follow same procedures & same processing time. VFS Global manages all VISA applications & proceedings, I will share details about UK VISA.
• -Find type of your VISA & apply through this link only if visit VISA is your category: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa
• -If your duration is less than 6 months then your category is "Standard Visit VISA" which will cost you around Rs.8600 + SMS Charges in today's date, if you want normal processing time else you can apply for priority VISA for double charges. You need an international/overseas payment method to pay onto the portal, SBI, Indian Overseas etc are national banks you have to activate international payment service then only you can pay it's better to use ICICI, HDFC, AXIS or credit cards they provide overseas payments by default.
• -It doesn't matter from which VFS Global center you applied: Mumbai, Jaipur, Kolkata, Delhi(maybe faster) but it's recommended that you apply to your nearest center from your Passport address.
• -Don't book your flight tickets or tour plans without VISA stamp on your Passport.
• -Minimum of 15 days it takes for processing the above category of VISA counting from the next day after submission of all documents. Just be patient after documents submission if any other documents are required then you will receive an email to upload/submit further. All your submitted documents with stamped VISA on Passport & couriered by Blue-Dart if opted for the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learn & get some brief info about flight, immigration &  seats if you are traveling first time in flight.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i11jzCQ4yc0
• -Etihad Airways has now a facility for the preferred seat, you can select your seat immediately after ticket bookings: http://www.etihad.com/en-in/before-you-fly/manage-my-booking/ .For other airlines check web-check-in time & select your preferred seats. Use this flight simulator to book your desired seat of all kinds of flight types: https://www.seatguru.com/ 

Clear your time-zone confusions & add country's local time in your world clock prior to the visit. Avoid departure & arrival time confusions of flight that are local to that country respectively.

 

 

 

Always exchange your preferred currency at least 1 week before the trip from RBI approved Forex agents if you don't want to pay extra international charges for each transaction. Get online booking at cheapest exchange rates from here: https://www.extravelmoney.com/

Always keep your passport with you if you are travelling alone else in group it's not mandatory to keep passport every time with you.

Some good notes/links

VISA Application: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA8pMBoWkmU

First Flight Tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO2-dq3Tn34

Luggage Tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aakue_EF_EY

Long Flights Tricks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBkVfjWxGk0

Trip Report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTCV-ZfFilo

First Class Luxury: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R2sOr6vZqo

Special Thanks!
Utkal & Mayuresh for working on this project

09:16