British Deputy High Commission in Mumbai

The British Deputy High Commission in Mumbai is the UK's principal consular and commercial mission in western India, located in Naman Chambers in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) — Mumbai's planned business district. Because both the UK and India are Commonwealth member states, the mission is formally a Deputy High Commission rather than a Consulate. The Deputy High Commission's jurisdiction covers Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, with the British Nationals Assistance Office in Goa operating under Mumbai's umbrella for routine British-national support there. The catchment is anchored by Mumbai itself — India's financial capital, home to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange and the Reserve Bank of India — and includes the Pune-Aurangabad-Chakan automotive corridor, the pharmaceutical-manufacturing cluster around Mumbai and Pune, and the Indore industrial economy in Madhya Pradesh.

The Deputy High Commission provides consular services to British nationals living in or travelling through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, with the British Nationals Assistance Office in Goa supporting Goa under Mumbai's oversight. Standard FCDO consular services include emergency travel documents in case of lost or stolen passports, registration of births and deaths, official letters used in dealings with Indian authorities, and emergency assistance for British nationals affected by serious incidents — arrest, hospitalisation, death of a relative, victimisation by crime or natural disaster. The Deputy High Commission cannot provide legal advice, intervene in court or police proceedings, secure release from detention, pay legal or medical bills, provide banking services, or make travel arrangements other than emergency travel documents in narrow circumstances. The standard contact route is the FCDO online enquiry form rather than direct phone, with appointments booked online. The FCDO 24-hour switchboard in London on +44 20 7008 5000 covers situations outside Indian office hours. The British community in western India is concentrated in Mumbai (especially the BKC and Powai business districts), Pune (significant employer and academic community) and a substantial retiree and long-stay community in Goa.

Through the DBT team in Mumbai, the Deputy High Commission supports both directions of investment in western India. For UK investors entering or expanding in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh or Chhattisgarh, the team coordinates with the state-level investment promotion agencies — MAITRI in Maharashtra, the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation, the Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation — and orients investors to the relevant Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes in electronics, pharmaceuticals, automotive and other categories. For Indian investors looking at the UK, SelectUSA's UK equivalent — the Office for Investment under DBT, alongside the regional growth agencies for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Mayoral Combined Authorities for English regions — is the operational counterpart. Mumbai-headquartered conglomerates are among the most active sources of inbound foreign investment to the UK across IT services, pharmaceuticals, automotive and clean technology.

Educational and cultural ties are the largest single channel of contemporary UK-India engagement and the British Council operates a major centre in Mumbai supporting: • Study UK advising and EducationUSA-equivalent counselling for prospective Indian students at UK universities — university selection, application strategy, IELTS and other test preparation, financial-aid guidance and visa-interview preparation. • The British Council's English-language teaching and IELTS examination centre in Mumbai. • The Chevening Scholarship — the UK government's flagship one-year master's scholarship — and the GREAT Scholarships, both with substantial cohorts from western India each year. • The Newton-Bhabha programme funding collaborative research between UK and Indian institutions including IIT Bombay, IIM Ahmedabad (under the Ahmedabad Deputy High Commission for Gujarat-side activities), the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the network of Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research. UK universities — Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, the LSE, UCL, Edinburgh, King's College London, Manchester and many others — host very large student cohorts from western India each year, predominantly in business, engineering, computer science, life sciences, law and humanities. The Graduate route allowing two years of post-study work (three for PhDs) is a major draw.

Public access to the Deputy High Commission is by appointment only. For consular services, emergency support or general enquiries, contact via the FCDO online enquiry form on the British Deputy High Commission Mumbai's gov.uk page. For UK visa applications, complete the online UK visa application, pay the relevant fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge, then book the biometric appointment at a VFS Global Visa Application Centre in Mumbai, Pune or another western-Indian city through the VFS booking system. For genuine consular emergencies affecting British nationals outside office hours, the FCDO 24-hour switchboard in London is +44 20 7008 5000. The Deputy High Commission's address for in-person appointments is Naman Chambers, C/32 G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai 400051.