I work in a Multinational engineering firm and am billed to travel to India mid this month to work with our office in India on a new Technology which they have no local resource alternative.

I filled the VISA online Application form since Wednesday 5th November 2014 and was told that " No Appointment Dates are Available " I have been trying ever-since then with the same result.
Yesterday, I made out time and visited the Consulate at Walter Carrington here in Lagos.

What I observed was not funny:

The Consulate officials in connivance with touts/Agents have mapped out strategy of extorting desperate Nigerians especially those traveling to India on Medical ground their hard earned money. This fee which range from 5k to 20k is not VISA processing fee but cost of getting you an Appointment date which ought to be free and transparent. They told me that even if I try till next year that I will not get a date just to submit my Visa application.

I keep asking, can India or other Consulate in Ghana or SA be so crude to their host nationals?

I might forfeit the trip as my office has a compliance policy and bribing is a NO NO here.

Guys, please if you have gone through this ordeal, kindly share your experience and how you got over it.

It is very displeasing that when we are out of the Country , we are treated badly and even inside our own country, these foreign nationals still make things difficult for Nigerians.

Our leaders should wake up and make Nigeria better, else why should such a crowd be desperate to go to India if we have an OK health system here that can handle some major treatment without complications?

I rest my case here

have you been able to apply now or i help u?

I have not been able to apply yet, have been awake all nite trying to get appointment, now their portal is telling me " Access code not valid"

Will be very appreciative if there is any way you can be of help


Also want to ask if it is possible for my company in India getting this appointment for me considering the limited time they have to finalize the project which i am coming for?

Wow. See wahala.

am not it, i will get intourch with you wen i get a date for you moreover you too should keep trying

why not go to the Embassy and do what others are doing and get your appointment,if you cant beat them you join them. Nigeria is a corrupt and lawless country, that is why the India Embassy is doing like that, you are having sleepless nite because of

appoitment date given yet? 2 dec right?

WisePer:
I have not been able to apply yet, have been awake all nite trying to get appointment, now their portal is telling me " Access code not valid"

Was in your shoes some weeks ago,I tried all day,even woke up @ nite to try it,still nothing..

Until I had to go back to the agent that helped me last year n I got an apointment date in days(had to part with some money of cause)

So if you really wonna make dat trip,just do the needful else u wld be stuck.its just d situation we find oursleves in this country..

Had same experience too! I applied for an Indian visa but couldn't get an appointment date. I called the Indian consulate at Walter Carrington several times with no one answering the phone. I had to get the appointment date through a tout/agent(who collected10k from me) who told me there was no way I would have gotten the appointment date online. The situation is indescribable. God help us!

It was a funny drama yesterday at d indian embassy in Abuja. I had applied for a business visa to india since july 2014..though around september I withdrew my intl passport back as I had to travel to d uk where I spent 3 months. .after uk trip I went back again to submit my passport for the indian business visa which I hd paid about 50k for earlier..for about a week plus since I submitted my passport back to the indian embassy, it has been one story after another..no visa clearance yet from India or network has been down since morning. .that had been their usual story and come tomorrow everyday. To cut d story short..yesterday when I and some other group of people who they had been frustrating did not hear our names among d applicants whose visas are ready ...we decided to barge Into d embassy, the inner part where d consular officers often chill and cos a lot of shouting and banging on the doors inside over powering d mobile police men there and private security and scared d shit outta those shrewd indians... caught all their attentions there including their top man, at the end of the day our visas were printed there and then and everyone who present there was given their visas cos we had told them we were not leaving the building without our passports and visas or passport and visa fee that was paid.. I left Indian embassy yesterday around after 9pm in d night when my visa was given to me..they tot they could fool us all d time..they don't know they can only fool us sometimes..they were withholding ppls visas which they paid for for nothing after they had checked documents submitted to support visa applications and giving a nod of approval to people asking them to go pay visa fee..they tot we would get frustrated and eventually give up our visa applications and retrieve just our passports back as some ppl had already done because they were fed up with come today come 2moro. .using our own security officers to scare anyone who tries to make any noise about the issue but it was a different episode for them yesterday..I hope we improve our great nation one day soon to avoid this desperation for visas..they took advantage on us to start cheating us becos of this shitty situation our failed leaders kept us..imagine india sha!

Chrizizi, i love ur boldness, thumbs up for u !

What do people go to do in India? That country is a highly racist country, where as a black man you are exploited and conned. If you love your life and value it. Don't go to that country. There's nothing in that country, they can hardly cater for their 1.2billion population, let alone you a foreigner.

ololo12:
What do people go to do in India? That country is a highly racist country, where as a black man you are exploited and conned. If you love your life and value it. Don't go to that country. There's nothing in that country, they can hardly cater for their 1.2billion population, let alone you a foreigner.

so where should they do?

ololo12:
What do people go to do in India? That country is a highly racist country, where as a black man you are exploited and conned. If you love your life and value it. Don't go to that country. There's nothing in that country, they can hardly cater for their 1.2billion population, let alone you a foreigner.

Well there are lots of reason's Nigerians go to India..people go there to study which is cheap compared to UK and other western countries ..for medical reasons which is also affordable..for business as there are a lot of manufacturers of many products there which are very cheap as well ..another thing India is a cheap country to live in..accommodation ,food ,internet, clothing and every other basic needs u can think of are very cheap there..there are lots of Nigerians living legal and illegal in delhi,Mumbai,Pune,Bangalore,chennai and almost all cities in India..

most of the time we bring trouble to ourselves there by being too loud, get drunk any how and misbehave cos drinks are very cheap there, play loud music, imagine the other day in delhi two different cult groups from Nigeria fought themselves brutally and their actions were caught on cctv camera. .infact the camera caught Nigerians assaulting another nigerian and then leaving him with serious injuries and that prompted the arrest and deportation of about 50 Nigerians..yeah many of em are racist agreed and so are many Brits Americans Russians Arabs other Asians..u can help me name the rest..In India as long as u r peaceful, not loud and law abiding u would never get into any trouble with anyone even if u stay upto 10 years there legal or illegal.

For their attitude towards us recently for visa issues..who to blame..our economy is in a shambles, we don't understand our government. .we can't organise our country.. hopelessness on d rise among our youths. .a lot of people are fed up with the life here..people just want to go to anywhere they can get basic needs easily..hence embassies are crowded every other day for visas by Nigerians..what do u expect from this and who is to blame?

[quote author=willyboss post=28954341]Had same experience

seun1975:


Can you provide me with details of the 'Agent' who helped you? Pls send his name to me- seun4business@yahoo.com

mail me at success4mankind@yahoo.com

Hello Guys,

I also encountered this same issue. I had been trying to get an appointment for over one week (during office hours) and I was asked to pay 5k by the touts outside. They also told me that I won't be able to get a date without them. Well, I didn't pay this money as it was against company policy. Instead, I tried to get the site again as soon as I got home (about 6:30pm, Friday) and it worked.

My advice, keep trying (if you can). Try outside normal business hours. And if you can't, negotiate with those guys. Don't pay outrageous amounts of money.

Rayhut:
why not go to the Embassy and do what others are doing and get your appointment,if you cant beat them you join them. Nigeria is a corrupt and lawless country, that is why the India Embassy is doing like that, you are having sleepless nite because of

it's a shame that people openly endorse corruption cos "Nigeria is a corrupt country". Bros do you know that you are part of the problem? you are being cheated upon and you use such words like "if you can't beat them join them". if you know who you are, you won't stoop low to be associated with bribe.
bros, do you know that after giving bribe, if you ever have reason to apply for a job in that same embassy, they will disqualify you without looking at your CV on the grounds that you will accept bribe.

OP, am with you on this, stand your ground, write an open letter to them, copy both their Abuja and India embassies, include all the media houses (trust Nigerian journalists to.help you make a bigger story out of it).sounds like a lot of trouble right? you might not benefit from it immediately but you would have help in putting a stop to this nonsense and you will be known for your integrity.

seun1975:


Can you provide me with details of the 'Agent' who helped you? Pls send his name to me- seun4business@yahoo.com

You may have to what's app me because I can't receive pm's!