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VISA
A visa (short for the Latin
carta visa, meaning
"the document has been seen") is a document
issued by a country giving a certain individual
permission to enter the country for a given period
of time and for certain purposes. Visa is usually
stamped or glued inside of a passport, or sometimes
issued as separate pieces of paper.
Guidelines for Visa Applicants
All Indian Nationals who have
acquired either US or Foreign citizenship are
advised to surrender their Indian Passports to
the nearest Indian Mission for cancellation and
return.The cancelled Indian passports will be
needed at the time of applying for Person of Indian
Origin (PIO) card or Indian visa for the first
time on a US passport.
Documents
required to be submitted for visa
1. Visa application Form
a) Visa application
form should filled in legibly and clearly, in
bold (capital) letters in black/blue ink only.
Incomplete and illegible applications may not
be processed.
b) Name and
other relevant particulars should be filled
in as per details in the passport in expanded
form.
2. Passport
, which should have a minimum validity of six
months on the date of application with at least
two blank pages.
3. Photographs
; 2 latest identical passport size photographs,
depicting front pose against light background
4. Supporting
documents, if the visa being applied for
is other than a Tourist Visa, the visa application
should be accompanied with supporting documents
on type of visa applied for. (For details, please
see categories of visa
given below).
5. Visa
Fee, (Please see Fee
Schedule for the amount of fee). In case
the applications are deposited in person at the
counter, visa fee can be paid in cash or by Cashier's
Check/Certified Check or Money Order made payable
to the Embassy of India, Washington (PERSONAL
CHECKS / CREDIT CARDS are not accepted)
5. Persons of Indian Origin
applying for a visa for the FIRST time on US passport
must submit their Indian passport along with the
application form for cancellation and return.
If the visa is required on a new US passport booklet,
either previous US passport or photocopy of Indian
visa are to be submitted with the application.
US Citizens:
Additional requirements
1. Applicants who are not Citizens
of USA, but hold long term US visa or a Green
Card should submit a copy of the visa or the Green
Card.
2. Applicants who are not citizens/
residents of the USA and hold a tourist or other
short-term visa for USA should normally apply
for Indian visas in the countries of their permanent
residence. In case of emergency or special circumstance,
an application could be made at the Indian Embassy
in Washington DC or Consulates General of India
in the US. In addition to the relevant visa fee
they should remit an additional US $ 20 for reference
to be made to the country of their original residence.
The processing time in such cases is usually 5-7
working days.
Note-
(a) Please read the relevant
instructions carefully before applying to avoid
any inconvenience;
(b) Kindly note that the validity
of the visa starts from the date of issue and
not the date of entry into India)
Special Visa application forms
should be filled in by citizens of Pakistan (4
copies with 4 photos) and Bangladesh (2 copies
with 2 photos). (It usually takes 3-4 months to
process visa applications of Pakistan, Afghanistan,
Somalia and Chinese passport holders).
Categories of Visa
Contact Information of Foreigners
Registration officers in India
New Delhi
Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO)
Ist floor, Hans Bhavan,
Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg,
Near ITO, New Delhi
Phone: 011-3319489/3755183/5652389
FRRO & Deputy. Commissioner of Police
Special Branch - II (CID)
Mumbai
Phone: 022-2621169/2620721/8350098
Chief Immigration Officer
Shastry Bhavan Annexe
26, Haddows Road,
Chennai
Phone: 044-8277036/8277036/2340589
S. P. (Immigration and CID)
Interrogation Centre
PCP Attari Rail Mal Mandi
Amritsar
Phone: 0183-225456/227605/382630
DIG (Border)
Intelligence Branch
13-Lord Singh Road
Calcutta
Phone: 033-2470549/5528830
At other places
The Superintendents of Police
(SP) of the Districts are registration officers
for Foreigners.The registration officers would
issue a Certificate of Registration. The foreigners
should surrender these certificates at the office
where they are registered or of the place where
they intend to depart or to the immigration officer
at the port/check post of exit from India. If
the certificate is surrendered to other than the
immigration officer at the port/check post of
exit, the foreigners should produce the receipt
indicating such surrender of the document to the
immigration officer at the port/check post of
exit.
Some important instructions
for the visitors:
- Registration is required
to be done only once within the stipulated period,
even though he/she may go out of India on multiple
entry facility during the validity of the visa.
Only if he/she enters India on a new visa will
he/she be required to register again.
- Foreigners can visit restricted
/protected areas only after getting a valid
permit as visa alone is not enough to visit
such places.
- Health Requirement: Foreigners
coming from or through yellow fever countries/zones
must possess a valid
vaccination certificate.
- Arrival/Departure:
All visitors to India are required to fill Disembarkation/
Embarkation cards, which are available with
the airlines and the airports in India.
Caution
Wildlife:
The Indian Wildlife Protection Act bans all forms
of wildlife trade. Violations of the provisions
of the act are punishable with heavy fines and
imprisonment. Travelers are, therefore, advised
not to buy any wildlife or wildlife products or
derivatives-specially ivory articles, fur and
skin articles derived from wild animals such as
Shahtoosh.
Drugs:
The travelers should not buy, sell or use psychotropic
drugs or any other narcotic substances while in
India, as their purchase, sell or possession is
a cognizable offence punishable by imprisonment.
Useful Web links
Consular
Passport and Visa Division
Tourist
office of India |
