UK Border Agency offers advice against fraud

22-January-2013

The UK Border Agency has set up a special website to advise students on how to protect themselves against fraudsters.According to the Agency, criminals try to contact you via an email, phonecall or letter, to make you believe that they can get you a visa or that there is a problem with your application.

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TB testing a must before applying for UK visa

22-January-2013

If you are resident in India and would like to apply for a UK student visa of longer than 6 months (including under Tier 4), you must be tested for TB before you apply to show that you are free from TB. If you do not take the test, or the test shows that you have TB, you will not be permitted to travel to the UK until you take the test and are shown to be free of TB, including after treatment.

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Pre departure planning

29-June-2012

There are endless little details that need to be remembered before you take off to study abroad. To help you put together this all important ‘to do list’, several Pre-departure orientation sessions are being organized for Fall 2012 students. These briefings equip you with all that you need to know about visas, travel, documents to carry, weather, currency, studying, living overseas, etc. These are also great opportunities to network with other students travelling overseas from your city. Find out more about these pre-departure sessions:

US Pre-Departure Orientation

UK Pre-departure sessions

Germany pre-departure sessions

UK Visa fee changes

05-May-2012

As per the new guidelines that came into force on 6 April, 2012, the fee for several types of UK Visa has been altered. Click here for latest information. Also, please note that new versions of application forms are now in use. Click here to download the latest version.

US Visa Processing Fee Changes

05-May-2012

Non-immigrant as well as Immigrant Visa application fee for the USA changed on 13 April, 2012. The fee for most non-immigrant Visa application, which includes Student Visas, has increased. Those who paid their visa fee before this date need not pay the difference as long as their visa interview is on or before 12 July, 2012. For those having their interview after this date will have to pay the difference. Click here to visit the US State Government website to see the updated fee list.

New DAAD office opens in Bangalore

05-May-2012

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has opened its newest office in Bangalore. This is their fifth office in India and is located in the premises of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany on Residency Road.

USIEF sessions on visa application process

05-May-2012

The USIEF centers in New Delhi and Mumbai are organizing several sessions in the month of May on understanding the Student Visa process. This presents a good opportunity to clarify any doubts since these sessions will be addressed by US consular officers. In addition, the USIEF center in Mumbai will also hold sessions on Basic Orientation on Higher Studies in the US, How to Choose Courses and Application Timeline for Studying in the US.

New UK Post Study Work rules

05-May-2012

As per the new guidelines that came into force on 6 April, 2012, the Post Study Work (PSW) route for students to work in the UK after the completion of their studies is no longer valid. Instead, students graduating from a recognized educational institute will have to apply for a job with a UK Border Agency licensed Tier 2 sponsor to remain and work in the UK. Moreover, the post for which they are applying must be paid a minimum salary of £20,000 or the minimum set out in the relevant Code of Practice.
Click here for more information.

Online applications mandatory for UK Visa
27-Feb-2012

Beginning March 5, all applications for UK Visa will have to be made online. Applicants will have to take a printout of the application filled online and then make an online appointment with the nearest visa application centre. At the appointment, they should bring the application printout along with all other necessary documents. For more details, click here.

Full Body Scanning in airport security
You might have come across the term ‘full body scanner’ while reading about changes in security measures adopted by airports around the world, particularly in North America. This technology, also known as Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT), enables airport authorities to screen passengers quickly and without physical contact. Though aimed towards enhancing passenger security, controversies regarding health safety and passenger privacy have surrounded AIT since its inception. Here’s a lowdown on what full body scanners really are, and what you should be prepared for. 


Traditionally, security checks have involved a pat-down and a scan for metallic objectives using a metal-detector. However, to cope with increased terror threats and larger passenger volumes, airport authorities needed something that could detect both metallic and non-metallic objects on a person, quickly. That’s how full body scanners and AIT came into the picture.


There are two main types of imaging technologies – Millimeter wave and Backscatter. While Millimeter wave technology bounces low intensity electronic waves off the body to create a three dimensional image of the body, the Backscatter uses low intensity x-rays to create a reflection of the body. Millimeter wave technology produces images that look like photo negatives while the Backscatter technology produces an image that looks like a chalk drawing. In response to the concerns about passenger privacy, the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) started testing new software on its Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) machines from February this year . The software enhances passenger security by showing only a generic outline of the passenger and the location of the anomaly in the image. If there is no threat, the screen simply flashes the OK sign and doesn’t show any outline.

Privacy is further enhanced by stationing the screening officer in a different room, making it impossible for the officer to see the passengers in person. Similarly, the officer who assists the passengers never gets to see their images. Both officers can communicate via wireless headsets though. The images are not stored and are supposed to be deleted immediately after scanning is over.
Before passing through the scanner, you should remove your watch, rings, cell phone, money, keys and outer clothing such as jacket from your person. This minimizes the chances of irregularities appearing during the scan and hence reduces the possibility of your undergoing additional checks such as a pat-down. The scan itself takes only a few seconds.

Advanced imaging technology is considered safe for all passengers, including pregnant women, children and people with medical implants. If you wish so, you can opt out of being scanned. However, you will then have to undergo the routine pat-down which some may find intrusive and time consuming.

For further details, please check out the respective websites of US Transport Security Administration or the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority.
Lufthansa voted "Europe´s best airline" 2010.
Lufthansa has been voted "Europe´s best airline" in the World Airline Awards 2010. The World Airline Awards are currently the most comprehensive and most renowned award program of the global travel industry. The award is based on the world's biggest passenger survey in the airline business, conducted every year by British consulting firm Skytrax, in which more than 18 million passengers from 100 countries rated over 200 airlines across over 35 different aspects. According to the Wall Street Journal, this award is the "equivalent of an Oscar" in the travel industry.

Lufthansa has also won several important awards of the Asian travel industry in 2009. Readers of Asia's leading travel industry magazines voted Lufthansa the best European airline. In India, Lufthansa was awarded the "Best international airline in 2009" award by the CNBC Awaaz Travel Awards, considered among the most important Travel awards in India.

Besides its customer service and its powerful network connecting 204 destinations in 81 countries, Lufthansa is equally committed to quality and innovation based on cutting edge technology and sustainable business practices.

Despite the global economic crisis in 2009, Lufthansa continued to pursue its fleet modernization program ? and thus its sustainability goals ? in a consistent fashion. In 2009 alone, 50 new highly efficient and environmentally compatible aircraft were integrated into our fleet and older models replaced. About Euro 1.9 billion were invested in new aircraft within the business segment Passenger Airline Group. The specific consumption of the Lufthansa Group fleet was successfully lowered slightly last year, to 4.30 liters of kerosene per passenger and 100 kilometers.

This year marks the much awaited introduction of the Lufthansa A380. A new era begins in the history of Lufthansa with the induction of Airbus A380. Featuring state-of-the-art technology, improved travel comfort in all classes, an enormously increased environmental efficiency and a highly positive effect on employment, this aircraft achieves top marks in all dimensions of sustainability.

Sustainability is a significant component of corporate culture at Lufthansa and it has been firmly anchored in the Group's strategic principles for many years. In 2009, Lufthansa was once again confirmed as a member of the internationally recognized Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), which includes only three airlines worldwide. Lufthansa achieved the best result to date since its first inclusion in the DJSI in 1999. Lufthansa received top marks for environmental criteria such as noise reduction and local air quality and was honored for its economic efficiency. In the social dimension, Lufthansa received top scores in areas of staff development, recruitment of highly qualified talents and employee retention.

Enhanced U.S. Airport Security for Incoming Travelers
Travelers flying into the United States will be subject to selective screening based in part on whether they exhibit characteristics of suspected terrorists. The Department of Homeland Security is adding the new layer of security measures in the wake of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit-bound flight.

People flying from international destinations may notice enhanced security and screening measures throughout the passenger check-in and boarding process, including the use of explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams and pat-downs, among other security measures.

The new measures could apply to any passenger traveling by air to the United States but would not target everyone.

Following these new security changes, travelers from 14 countries that were earlier flagged will no longer face extra screening before they fly to the U.S.

Those rules required extra screening, such as full-body pat-downs, for everyone from, or traveling through, any of these 14 countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The new procedures replace those that came into effect after the attempted bombing of a jetliner en route to Detroit on Christmas Day and are the result of the president's review of intelligence surrounding that incident. For more details, click on the link below:

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/guidance_international_flights.shtm