Indian visa for UK citizen
May 17, 2010 1:39 PM   Subscribe

My girlfriend is about to explode with rage trying to apply for Indian visas for our upcoming holiday. I thought I would ask MetaFilter for help before I offer to take over the process. Has anyone here (ideally a UK citizen) applied recently for an Indian visa?

We're stopping over in India to change planes on our way out to Australia, but I'm pretty sure that we don't need a visa to do this. On our way back we're spending 28 hours in Mumbai, and for this I'm pretty sure we need a visa, as we're leaving the airport and staying in a hotel.
posted by alby to Travel & Transportation (17 answers total)
 
I have, through my work. It took about about a few days. It's pretty reliable.

And yes, you do need a tourist visa, unfortunately.
posted by MuffinMan at 1:50 PM on May 17, 2010


Could you give us a better idea of what parts of process you're finding difficult?

(And before you explode with rage, consider that as an Indian citizen I have to undergo this process for pretty much every country I visit, including just changing planes in Australia.)
posted by peacheater at 1:53 PM on May 17, 2010


Response by poster: MuffinMan, I've sent you a MeFi Mail.
posted by alby at 1:54 PM on May 17, 2010


I'm from the U.S., but I got an Indian visa a few years back.

It sounds like you will need a visa, yes. I don't live anywhere near a consulate, so I had to send off my passport in the mail (which was risky enough), and after a few weeks without hearing anything, I called the offices. It turns out they process your visa based on your departure date, so the reason it took them so long to do mine is because I sent it in so early. I ended up getting it within a couple of weeks before leaving, no problem. YMMV.
posted by nitsuj at 1:56 PM on May 17, 2010


Response by poster: She's shouting at me across the desk as I type this.

The computer system won't recognise some of the data she enters, such as places of birth for her Father, or how to enter her dead Mother's details. Also, the form asks for Indian referees, and we don't have any. Also, do we need a transit visa or a tourist visa? We're staying less than two days. It also seems odd that you fill in the form online, then print it, then mail it, then go there to collect the visa in person. Am I better off using the offline form and mailing that? It seems to require less information.

::whispers:: Or is she overreacting?
posted by alby at 2:02 PM on May 17, 2010


I would think the hotel you plan to stay in would act as referees. I just put down the name of a random person I know in India as my referee and it works fine.
posted by MuffinMan at 2:13 PM on May 17, 2010


Response by poster: Any other suggestions for our two referees? Should I e-mail the hotel, ask if they'll act as referees? I think it's just in case something horrible happens to us!
posted by alby at 2:22 PM on May 17, 2010


Could you just pay the extra for a "visa service" company? Yes, it costs extra, but then you don't really have to care about all of the weird steps & odd phrasings that bureaucrats find so hilarious. For example, the referee thing is almost entirely pointless -- I've always just put down the hotel. Heck, I've put down the names of hotels I'm not even staying at (full addresses, mind).

...and, were I you, I'd get the full tourist visa. Not sure if it's truly necessary or not, but frankly it's better to be prepared. The fewer reasons you can give for the airport authorities to extort money from you, the happier you'll be. No, I'm not kidding. I am aware of three common scams in currently operational in the Mumbai airport itself (two of which occur inside the inner security cordon, one of those involving the armed security personnel themselves).
posted by aramaic at 2:25 PM on May 17, 2010


Have a look here - it's quite useful.
posted by MuffinMan at 2:26 PM on May 17, 2010


Response by poster: I am aware of three common scams in currently operational in the Mumbai airport itself ...

Could you elaborate?
posted by alby at 2:42 PM on May 17, 2010


Why do you need to spend 28 hours in Mumbai? Surely it's not worth a visa?

Just leave the referee section blank - I've got two visas fine like that. The online form really shouldn't be that hard - it's improved so much now and is pretty self explanatory.

Don't worry too much about accurate data - if it spits up error, cut out punctuation and length.
posted by turkeyphant at 4:20 PM on May 17, 2010


You won't need a visa to change planes, but you will to leave the airport and stay in a hotel. When I was applying for visas in the US for an overnight stay, the guy at my expediting agency said to get the tourist visa because the transit visa had to be used within 15 days -- something to check for the UK visa system!. Tourist visas are also more common and for me there wasn't any difference between getting the tourist vs transit visa aside from the name itself. A tourist visa gives you more options and I assume it is the one they give out most often, so if all other things are equal, I would go for that one.

For referees, yes, just find an address that you may stay at or at least can loosely justify having written. If you don't wind up staying at a hotel that you list as a reference, at least you can tell officials in India that you intended to stay there. Remember that tons of people are coming into the country for tourism every day. I would just write the name of someone from your hotel, or the hotel's name; if I could find the name of someone at the hotel online I would probably use it without checking, actually, since if someone does call them up, they can say that you'll be a guest.

Remember to bring this information with you, since upon arrival in India you will need to fill out a card stating the address of a contact or a place you will be staying.
posted by ramenopres at 5:41 PM on May 17, 2010


Could you elaborate?

Err, not wishing to derail matters, I'll MeMail you.
posted by aramaic at 6:15 PM on May 17, 2010



::whispers:: Or is she overreacting?


Nope, she's not overreacting. The visa website sucks and there are no clear instructions. I went through the same thing while renewing my Indian passport in the U.S.! I would stick with the online form.
Figure out if she can talk to a live person on the phone for more information.
posted by cynicalidealist at 6:51 PM on May 17, 2010


(And before you explode with rage, consider that as an Indian citizen I have to undergo this process for pretty much every country I visit, including just changing planes in Australia.)

Having worked with researchers from India trying to get B1 or tourist visas, yeah. It's insane what you go through as a citizen and resident of India, especially for a first international trip.

Anyway. It looks to me like you can use a transit visa for that long layover, too, rather than getting a tourist visa?
posted by desuetude at 10:30 PM on May 17, 2010


Why are you wasting your time here? We are not going to issue you or your girlfriend an Indian visa. Talk to the consulate directly or if they have outsourced their service, talk to that company directly.

BTW, I have also heard of visa on arrival system. Can't you opt for that?
posted by zaxour at 9:17 AM on May 18, 2010


Why are you wasting your time here? We are not going to issue you or your girlfriend an Indian visa. Talk to the consulate directly or if they have outsourced their service, talk to that company directly.

BTW, I have also heard of visa on arrival system. Can't you opt for that?


The process of getting a visa for India is, as evidenced by the responses above, not particularly clear-cut. It's a perfectly legitimate question, which you are not required to answer.

BTW, visa on arrival isn't available in India for citizens of the UK.
posted by desuetude at 10:43 AM on May 18, 2010


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