Directions · VFS errors
The question worth answering first is not what the code says — it is whether the restriction is on your account or on your connection. That decides whether changing network helps or wastes your afternoon.
| Code | VFS wording | Restricts | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| 429201 | Permission Issue | Your VFS account | Around two hours, then it clears on its own. |
| 429202 | Account Locked | Your VFS account | Indefinite. It does not lift on a timer the way a rate limit does. |
| 429001 | Access Restricted for User ID | Your VFS account | Longer than a rate limit; frequently needs VFS support. |
| 403201 | Access restricted, unusual activity | Your internet connection | Usually lifted within an hour. |
| 403102 | Permission Issues | Your internet connection | Usually short — often under an hour. |
| 403203 | Permission Issues (variant) | Not clearly documented | Usually transient. |
| 403206 | Session expired or invalid | This browser session | Immediate. Signing in again clears it. |
| 401 | Unauthorised | This browser session | Immediate. |
Account-level codes (429201, 429202, 429001) follow your login. Switching to mobile data, opening a private window or using a different laptop reaches the same restricted account and changes nothing. Waiting, or contacting VFS, is the only route through.
Connection-level codes (403201, 403102) are the opposite. Your account is untouched — VFS has stopped accepting requests from the address you are on, often because a VPN or a shared office network put you behind an address other people were also hammering. Here, changing connection is exactly the right move.
Session codes (403206, 401) are not restrictions at all. Sign in again and carry on.
Do not read these codes by their first three digits.403201 and 403102 are connection blocks; 403203 shares their wording and does not behave like one. 429201 is a two-hour pause, while 429202 is an account lock that does not lift on a timer. Grouping them by prefix is the most common mistake made about them, and it leads people to abandon a perfectly good account or connection.
We watch VFS appointment calendars for a living, across several countries and over hundreds of thousands of checks. These distinctions — which code restricts what, how long each lasts, which ones are safe to wait out — come from that, not from repeating what other pages say.
What we deliberately do not publish is anything only useful for automating around these limits. That would not help you get an appointment, and it is not what this page is for.
Nearly everyone who hits these codes hit them the same way: refreshing an appointment page for weeks. The limits exist because of that behaviour, and the behaviour rarely works — openings are rare and arrive at no predictable hour.