VF Services (UK) Limited
India Visa Application Centre

Version 1st November 2011
1. Important Notes:
VFS recommends that you do not purchase tickets or make bookings which cannot be cancelled without cost prior to the issuance of a visa, except where it is a specific requirement stated as part of the visa application.

These terms contain a disclaimer which limits our liability to our refund policy stated below.

Except where covered in our refund policy below, all fees are not refundable, and may be retained by us on payment by you, even if you do not make or proceed with a visasurrender of Indian passport application, and whether or not a visa/Surrender certificate is ultimately granted.

You are responsible for the accuracy of your application form, and in checking your application form we do not guarantee that we will find any errors, and we do not verify information you have provided.

2. Service Provider
The India Visa Application Centre is a service provided by VF Services (UK) Limited ("VFS"). Our corporate head office is at 60-62 Wilton Road, Victoria, London SW1V 1DE, United Kingdom.

3. Application of These Terms
These terms and conditions govern your use of the services of the India Visa Application Centre, all visa applications you make, and all enquiries you make for advice or information concerning Indian visas. Each applicant for a visa hereby accepts and confirms that, prior to submitting a visa application, they have read, understood and agreed to be bound by, without limitation or qualification, all of these terms and conditions. No employee of VFS has any authority whatsoever to change, amend, amplify or withdraw any or all of these terms and conditions without prior written approval from VFS.

4. The Visa Application Service

4.1 Scope
The India Visa Application Centre of VFS is the outsourced partner of the High Commission of India (HCI) in the United Kingdom. In this capacity, the India Visa Application Centre is responsible for scheduling appointments, receipt of visa applications for travel to India and visa fees, submission of applications at the High Commission in London and Consulate General of India (CGI) in Birmingham and Edinburgh, collecting the processed passports from the HCI/CGI, and returning passports back to applicants.

4.2 Acceptance and Rejection of Applications
The assessment of visa applications is carried out by the High Commission of India or its Consulates, and the grant or refusal of India visas is at their sole discretion. The High Commission of India and the CGI reserve the right to ask for further documentation and information from the applicant, and to refuse any visa application. The applicant must supply such further documents and information if they wish their application to continue to be considered.

4.2 Fees
The fees payable by you comprise the embassy fee for the visa/surrender of Indian passport, which we forward on to the HCI/CGI, and our fees, comprising our service fee and other fees such as bank charges and fees.

Fees stated are only valid on the day that they are quoted or provided by us. If you decide to make your application on a later date, the fees may change.

All costs of returning passports, visas and documents to you are included in the final total fee based on information provided by you and the delivery methods selected by you.

All fees must be received in full under the available payment options as cleared funds for the application to be processed. If fees are paid by cheque (or other negotiable instrument) then the payment will not be considered to have been received until such cheque or negotiable instrument has cleared.

Except where covered in our refund policy below, all fees are not refundable, and all fees are payable and may be retained by us on payment by you, even if you do not make or proceed with a visa/surrender of Indian passport application, and whether or not a visa/surrender certificate is ultimately granted.

4.3 General Obligation
VFS will process all visa applications with reasonable care and skill and in accordance with all procedures prescribed by the Indian High Commission from time to time. However, whilst we use reasonable care to check your application form for obvious errors on the face of the form, we do not guarantee to detect errors with your form, and we do not undertake to verify any information you provide, which you are responsible for ensuring is accurate.

4.4 Applicant's Responsibility
It is the responsibility of all applicants to complete all applications forms truthfully, to provide correct and accurate information and documentation, to ensure that they have a valid passport, and on receipt of visa to check the validity of the visa issued to ensure that it covers the period of stay requested, the number or entries required, and that it is valid for the purpose of the trip.

Applicants are requested to submit/send photocopies of the supporting documents (not the originals) unless originals are requested.

4.4 Processing Times
The processing times for visas/surrender of Indian passport applications are estimates only. These are based on information and experience of the Indian High Commission and Consulates.

The processing of your application is subject to the procedures and timescales of the Indian High Commission and Consulates, over which we have no control.

4.6 Advertising Material
Advertising material may be included along with passports or other documents when they are returned to the applicant. If you do not wish to receive any such advertising material, you should notify VFS in advance at the time of submission of your visa application. Please note that all advertising material accompanying the relevant documents is provided by VFS, and does not have the endorsement of the Indian Government.

4.7 Changes to Procedures and Fees
The procedures and fees of the Indian High Commission and Consulates for the processing of visas and related services are outside the control of VFS and subject to change without prior notice. VFS does not accept responsibility for any changes in procedures or fees and reserves the right to pass on any increased fees.

4.8 Cancellation
Subject to the following paragraph, if you commence a visa application process, including by submitting an online application, you may cancel your application at any time before you visa application is posted or otherwise forwarded by us to the High Commission of India, the Consulate General of India or any other Indian embassy, in which case we will refund to you the embassy fee, but not any service fee, bank fee or other fee. Once your application has been posted or otherwise forwarded by us, it may not be cancelled.

If you commence a visa application process, including by submitting an online application, but do not complete the visa application process, including where you fail to send your visa application documentation to us or to attend in person at a visa application centre to complete your visa application, within 12 months of commencing the visa application process, then your visa application shall be considered to be ended and we may retain the embassy fee paid by you, as well as all service fees, bank fees and other fees. We shall not be obliged to notify you of this.

Your right above is the only cancellation right you have. Once you have submitted your application to us, you will be taken to have agreed that we may immediately commence processing your application and providing any services, and as a result you will not have any right to cancel under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000. This is because, under Regulation 13(1)(a), you lose your right to cancel if you agree that we can start providing the services within the cancellation period.

5. Refund Policy

5.1 Refund of Visa Application Embassy Fee
If VFS is in breach of contract or negligent in relation to any visa/surrender of Indian passport application submitted, resulting in the visa/surrender certificate not being granted or loss of applicants passport with valid visas, in each case, wherein the applicant has to apply for a new passport or cannot travel to India at the times stated by the applicant in his/her visa application, then VFS will refund to the applicant the embassy fee, but not any service fee, bank fee or other fee.

VFS will also refund the embassy fee if you cancel your visa application before it is forwarded by us to the HCI, CGI or any other Indian embassy, under Paragraph 4.8 above, but not any service fee, bank fee, or other fee. .

5.2 Loss or damage to passports and other travel documents
VFS takes every reasonable precaution while handling an applicant's passport & documents, and if due to any breach of contract or negligence on the part of VFS, the applicant's submitted passport or documents are lost or damaged beyond a useable condition, then VFS will pay to the applicant the amount of the fees charged by the government of the applicant's home country, for the replacement of the lost or damaged passport or other documents through their normal replacement procedure, and VFS will assist the applicant with the same within its capacity. Such payments will be made by VFS to the applicant on the presentation of the payment receipt issued by the government of their respective home country for the replacement of such lost or damaged passport or documents.

6. Disclaimer - Please read carefully
Except for the refund or reimbursements of fees as stated in the section above, VFS excludes its liability in connection with any visa applications, including liability in or under contract, negligence, tort, statute or otherwise howsoever, and including liability for any delay or failure of VFS in handling or processing visa applications, loss of or delay to passports and other documents, delays involving the High Commission of India or the CGI, and rejections of visa applications for any reason.

And for the avoidance of doubt:

6.1 No Liability for Incorrect Information
VFS shall have no liability for loss, delays or non-issuance of any application arising from or in connection with (to include but not restricted to) incomplete application forms, incorrectly or falsely completed application forms, and inaccurate or incomplete supporting documentation.

6.2 No Liability for Events Not In Our Control
VFS shall not be considered to be in breach of contract or negligent or otherwise liable in any way for any delay or failure of any application or loss, damage or delay to any passport or other documents due to accident, theft, natural calamities (act of god) or any other reason outside the control of, and not arising out of a wilful default of, VFS, or for the loss or damage to any passport or other document after it has been handed over to the applicant.

6.3 No Liability for Postal and Courier Service
VFS shall have no liability for any delays, or for loss of or damage to any visa application, passport or other documents, caused by, or occurring whilst any application, passport or document is in the possession of, any third party postal or courier service, including transportation of visa applications, passport or other documents between VFS and the High Commission or a Consulate and when being returned by VFS to the applicant.

6.4 No Liability for Assessment of Visa Applications
VFS is not involved in the process of assessment of visa applications, or their grant or refusal, and shall not be liable or responsible for any delay by the High Commission of India or the CGI in assessing, granting or refusing any visa application or for the grant or rejection of any visa application.

6.5 No Liability for Wasted Costs and Expenses
VFS shall have no liability to any visa applicant, or any other person relying on or benefiting from any visa application, for any commitment, cost or expenditure incurred in reliance on or anticipation of receiving an Indian visa, whether within a particular timescale or at all, including but not limited to air travel, hotel, and other travel and accommodation arrangements, and any other arrangements made.

VFS recommends that you do not purchase tickets or make bookings which cannot be cancelled prior to the issuance of a visa, except where it is a specific requirement stated as part of the visa application, in which case open tickets should be obtained.

6.6 General Exclusion of Loss and Damage
VFS shall have no liability (including in contract or for negligence) to any visa applicant, or any other person relying on or benefiting from any visa application, for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special, consequential damages or any damages whatsoever, including where caused by delay, misplacement, loss or damage of visa applications, passports and other documents, other than as stated in Section 5 above.

VFS shall have no liability (including in contract or for negligence) to any visa applicant or any other person relying on or benefiting from any visa application for any loss of profit, revenue, or contract, or business, profession, or other occupation, including where caused by delay, misplacement, loss or damage of visa applications, passports and other documents.

7. General

7.1 Third Party Rights
Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall benefit or be enforceable by any person other than the visa applicant, and the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 shall not apply.

7.2 Changes to these terms
VFS, in its sole discretion, may change, amend, cancel or withdraw any or all of these terms and conditions at any time without any prior notice.

7.3 Applicable Law
These terms and conditions and any visa applications shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any claims or disputes arising in relation to the services provided by VFS to the applicant shall be subject to the exclusive Jurisdiction of the courts in England and Wales.

8. Complaints
Please address any complaints to the complaints department at 60-62 Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1DE by post