VFS Global Indian Visa & Consular Application Centre

All, I have read all the negative reviews on Google I was assuming I was going to get a very poor service from Indian Visa & Consular Application Centre at 142-148 Goswell Rd., London EC1V 7DU.
But on my day of visit I had a pleasant surprise. I was able to queue and the reception checked the form / passports and provided the check lists for UK and Non-UK passport holders. Please find my photos for the checklist. It’s a shame the Counsellor website doesn’t publish this list.
Me and my wife didn’t have few documents, but they had a PC with internet access and a printer attached. I was able to pay £3 for the services and was able to print all the documents required (specially for my wife who is a non-UK passport holder)
They have a copier and provide photo copies for 50p per copy.
The time we took the checklist and the number we had plenty of time to print and arrange the documents.
I must thank for the reception gentleman (Named Frank). Frank was very helpful with everyone he advised and helped. I’m happy to provide reference to Frank for a pay raise for his excellent customer service.
Then the counter staff was very good and prompt on their service. We did all and get out of the building and I was able to over all these within my half a day of my work.
I was able to see some are coming with no preparation and not making an appointment or having the form printed. So I would advise to fill the application form and get the printout and make an appointment & I’m sure you will get treated as me.

Gone for a renewal of my passport
You should be there at least 15 minutes before the scheduled appointment.
Nice friendly staffs

At the Goswell visa centre today, I had a wonderful experience.

My appointment was on time, and everyone was really helpful and kind.

Although I was missing two of the necessary documents, the staff was incredibly helpful in explaining everything and assisting me in resolving the problem online.

They also offer printing services at a fair price.

Check all the paperwork as well before (there were a lot of people who needed to print some documents or make a photo).

It's a really busy location with lots of customers, yet the staff is still nice, so I'm extremely grateful for those that work there.

A very efficient service provided by the staff, seen earlier than the appointment and the member of staff who dealt with us was excellent. I did notice whilst waiting that all of the staff on duty were very good at what they do. Well done keep it up! The only minus is that the website is awful, hard to navigate and the application submission is a hard to find place. Tip: take your time, fill out your application out correctly and you have ALL the paperwork required apart from your application.

The Goswell office is very good in its services.
The staff here is very generous and humane in terms of dealing with people. They are polite and very friendly. I loved the way they were ensuring everyone is having a good time while they wait for their turns.

Additionally they have a great checklist available for the ease of the applications.

Really loved the whole experience.

Awesome. Excellent service. Very friendly staff and quick.

I had appointment for Indian passport renewal on 9th March, 2018 for 02:15 pm, reached there at 01:50 pm. Got the token - no queue for the token, next step sit and wait at waiting area where there were about 20-22 people. I was waiting for just 5 mins and the 4th person called upon was me, the guy at the counter was very helpful and even corrected my mistake as I've missed date of birth in the form, took just 5 mins and done. That's it. Super quick service.

So I traveled from Southampton to London just for 10 mins work in total.

Since I applied on Friday 9th March, my application was received by Indian Embassy on 13th and my passport was ready by 23rd. There is 5 days service as well for extra cost of 110£.

Definitely recommended place for passport services.

My experience towards VFS in Goswell road has always been excellent.
I've been going to this office for my visa / ILR/Surrender and today I visited this place for my OCI. I always get greeted well by the security. They are kind and also apologise for the delay caused even though its nothing much they can do. The amount of people there for their paper work is overwhelming and for the staff to keep calm in this situation is very impressive. Today I spoke to Divya, the lady behind the counter who was very kind, knowledgeable and had lots of patience while I was sorting my documents. She helped me step-by-step with the process. Great customer service and quality staff.
The staff were very accommodating especially towards parents with kids helping them find a place to sit, fill forms and trying to get them a counter asap.
I appreciate all your help thanks 😊

Lucky to find Joy on counter 3 as my daughter visa officer, I am sure all officers are best but to be honest note Joy is very polite, efficient and welcoming.
This was my first time,
Get the checklist done before in hand , carry pen ,papers and you good to go.

Was here at VFS Goswell Rd London for my kids passport renewal. Good to see a proper trained team to handle the service in an efficient manner. We met the staff Mr.Ganapathy Thirukkumaran in the counter allocated to us. Interaction with him was an excellent experience. He explained and patiently assisted to do proper documentation. Thank you for the support.

Was there to renew our passports as a family. The entire staff crew were so helpful from the staff at the entrance to those at the counter. Was surprised at the way how they handled everything so smoothly and efficiently.
The place has a copier, printer, a computer to access and a passport photo service all in the same venue but you may have to wait in a que. Although just down the road there is a shop where u can get it all done in just few mins too, in case you missed any document/ photo.
A huge shoutout to all the staff there who are so accommodating and helpful.

I generally don’t write a lot of reviews . I was a little scared after reading all the negative comments on google before going there. But my visit there was so different from what I had read so I thought I should write a review to clear the air a bit.
I had an appointment for Passport Renewal at 11:45 and they let me in at 11:30. The person at the security was cordial. He checked my documents and when my photos did not meet the requirements asked me to click one at the office. The lady who clicked my picture was super sweet and I could see her help so many people who came to her with questions, all with a nice smile.
I had to wait for an hour before my token was called. After I went there the lady at the counter took all my documents. She was not very friendly, but was very professional and not rude at all. I had forgotten to carry a document, but I could print it out in the office without a problem. After that she processed my application in no time. Since I had applied for a Tatkal Passport, I received mine in a matter of 2 days!

I recently had an appointment at the VFS office with regards to a passport renewal. I must say that after looking at the reviews I was a little sceptical of the experience, however, it was nothing short of a first class service and assistance. We had the pleasure of being assisted by a very professional gentleman Balakrishna Hohan, who made the whole process feel seamless, thank you Balakrishna. Overall too, the gentleman on the gate to the team on the counter table to the actual application was all a smooth and a pleasant experience. Thank you Team VFS India.

First things first, there is a lot of room for improvement and I will list them at the very end, but the reason I give 5 stars is purely because that little room represents all of India and its essence.

One has to queue at the entrance and then go to the tail end of the room where there is a counter to get their token. This token is then called out on the main screen. The person handing the token also verifies the documents and suggests what needs to be done. If the application is for a tourist visa there is a seperate counter to verify documents. Presumably it is to reduce the amount of time spent on the main counter. There are 17 counters to cater for various applications.
Your token is eventually called and you have to head to the counter to verify the documents and pay the fees.
My timeline was something like this for an appointment at 8:45am:
1. Arrived at 8:30am - there were about 10 other applicants inside already and about 5 or so in the queue.
2. Asked to get the token at about 8:40am
3. Called to the counter at about 8:43am (This depends on the type of application really. Mine was surrender of the passport, other applications might take longer)
4. There was a discrepancy in the form I had filled, so was offered an add on service to fill a new form online at a cost of £10. Was then asked to wait for another 10 minutes.
5. Called to the counter again at about 8:55am to verify the new form.
6. Form verified, signed and paid for the application. Was given a receipt along with the courier tracking details.
7. Out of the premises by 8:59am

Joy and Pragash were the ones who served me and again, it was like coming home.

The center is buzzing with the same vibe that one will find in India. Mayhem and chaos with the right amount of compassion and respect. If you are there to make an application and need help then just ask for it and they are all an amazing bunch.

In terms of improvements, here's a list:
1. Label the counters for token and other bits.
2. Get a coffee machine that accepts card!
3. Advertise the services well. I had a mild hear-attack when I was told that I may have to redo the form and come back again. Thank-fully Joy went the extra mile to enquire if the form can be filled online and did so for me, otherwise it would have been an expensive waste of a morning.
4. Wear name badges to identify if one works there. It was nice to be told the names of the people who helped me but otherwise it is not personable at all.

Overall, I had a very pleasant experience and hope the changes are implemented sooner than later.

Review for Passport Reissue Service (Tatkal):

Crowded yet well managed VFS Centre. Tried reaching early to avoid the rush but the tokens would only be handed out 15 minutes prior to scheduled appointment time.

I had to wait approx. 2 hours after receiving the token due to:

i) Only one counter was processing tatkal applications along with other services,

ii) random walk-ins addressing their query at this counter without any tokes or queue process in place (please redirect walk-in queries to the token counter or a separate one to reduce waiting time for people with confirmed appointments).

The submission itself took less than five minutes, and I have received the new passport today with submission on Monday (only 2 days for processing). Happy with the express turnaround, thank you.

These 5 stars are for Krish (I think full name is Balakrishna) and Frank at the entrance/ticket counter. The only 2 friendly and helpful people there.

I visited 4 times. 1st time didn't have surrender certificate as I had my passport cancelled way before 2010 and they weren't issuing one, 2nd time went to apply for surrender certificate, 3rd time went for OCI again and they wanted original Naturalisation certificate, 4th time went for OCI again with original certificate and I got my OCI within 4 weeks. They did want my Dad's passport copy and copy of his OCI even though I was applying on my Indian passport.

They want to make sure application doesn't get rejected but would be good if they would smile and be welcoming. I think they get trained that way from what I witnessed.

I had a good experience when myself and my son required to travel to India urgently. One of the managers named Savitha Gopinath who helped me with the processing of the documents and made it quick and easy for us to travel asap, guiding us throughout the process. Thank you for the wonderful service 😊

Reading the other reviews and other hearsay experiences, We were expecting our encounter to be harrowing but it was completely different. We had our appointment at 10- 10.15 am slot, we were politely and professionally ushered in by the door attendant and given 2 forms to fill. We were called to the agent booth who was extremely professional and finished our business by 10.15 am. 10/5 star. Keep up the good work

I had a good experience. Although it was a very busy day with many appointments, the staff were kind and very thorough in checking through the applications and the necessary documentations. The staff in the counters Joydeep and Prakash were especially helpful in supporting me to process my application by giving me proper advise and guidance with respect to the queries I had.

I had a positive experience at the VFS Global Indian Visa & Consular Application Centre on Goswell Road in London and was impressed by the efficiency and helpfulness of the staff, particularly Ms. Shrutika Kamble and Mr. Joydi P.
I appreciate the speed and thoroughness with which they handled my documents and queries, and was pleased that I was able to complete the process quickly.
I also noted that despite the negative rumours and gossip, I found the staff to be friendly and efficient.
I wanted to express my gratitude and appreciation for the excellent service I received and decided to write this review.
Ashok Girglani

Ignore all the negative comments if you are a sensible and intelligent human being who does their homework before attending any appointment. My experience on 29/07/22 for passport renewal service is as follows:
*place was very clean, empty bins and clean toilets.
*staff was helpful and very patient
*staff were working very hard to stay calm and carry on with all the chaos.
*the gentleman , looks like afro-caribean origin, was very helpful at the security desk, dealing with everyone, issuing tokens and relative forms.
*staff at counter were very good, working hard, lady told me that they sometimes have to work on saturdays to finish the workload.
*photo service available , £10 is fine, just imagine if asked to get it done from somewhere else. Lady doing photographs was nice.
*passport return service is all inclusive, no extra form to fill like few other embassies.

Now my opinion about Indian citizens who use their service is as follows:
Forms were not filled correctly and very high expectation from staff, most of the people were accompanied with other family members (only applicant should be allowed together with any minors) as tiny place, people should do their homework before visiting the centre together with correct original documents.

Overall, very happy with the service. No trouble at all but feeling sorry for the staff.