Excited as you may be to come to India, all excitement wanes when you visit the Indian embassy in your country to apply for the Indian Visa. That is your first experience with bureaucracy – Indian style!
As you will find out, there is a dearth of articles and information on the internet on how to apply for an Indian Visa. Checking the embassy website for information does not help either! The most common complaint from expats is that the Indian Embassy website is not updated with correct and and up-to-date information. So naturally it leads to several amendments to your visa application and more than necessary to and fro trips to the embassy. More often than not – as an expat – you are already tired of India – and this is just the first step of your journey!
To help make this process a little simpler, I have put together a few simple points that can help you with your visa application.
Step 1: Know which visa you need to apply for
At present the Indian Government issues thirteen different types of visas. Naturally the documentation for your visa application is dependent on the the type of visa that you apply for. The most commonly sourced visas are the Employment Visa and Tourist Visa.
If you are staying in India for maximum 6 months, you can apply for a tourist visa. The only constraint with the tourist visa is that you cannot re-enter India within 2 months of leaving the country. If you need to return to India within 2 months then you need to get a permit to re-enter the country.
Employment Visas are handed out to those foreign nationals who are being employed by an Indian company in India. If you are coming to work with an NGO, then you can still apply for this visa. An employment visa is generally granted for 1 year at a time, irrespective of the duration of your contract with the Indian company.
Step 2: Prepare your visa application
Your first stop to preparing your visa application should be the Indian embassy website. The standard set of documents for each visa type are generally listed on the website itself.
Once you have these documents in place, call up the embassy and speak to the visa section to confirm if your documents are in order. Most often, the embassy will confirm the standard document list. But when you arrive at the embassy hoping to sail through, you are given a totally different check list with several additional documents. Why embassies never publish the updated checklist is something I cannot fathom yet, but c’est la vie, I guess!
Prepare to visit the embassy at least twice. If you happen to have all the documents in place, consider yourself blessed!. More likely than not, you may have to come back with an additional document.
Step 3: Follow a document check list and submit your application
Prepare your own document check list from references found on the net and through conversations with the embassy.
Standard documents include
- Copies of your passport valid for a minimum of 6 months (provide copies of your entire passport including blank pages)
- 2 passport size photographs (light background)
- Proof of address – major utility bill (gas, water, electricity), driver’s license or copy of lease agreement
- Invitation Letter – from school or company
- Contract of employment / Letter of Appointment (should indicate your designation, period of employment and the salary paid to you must be more than USD 25,000)
- Financial documents to support your stay in India
Except for the Employment Visa, all other visa’s have a finite list of documents which are generally listed on the website. However if applying for an Employment Visa, then it is advisable to include
- Proof of registration of the Indian organisation i.e. Memorandum of Association and Certificate of Incorporation of the company
- Tax Liability Letter – which states that the company is responsible for paying taxes on behalf of the applicant
- Letter of Undertaking – stating that if anything adverse happens to the applicant, the company undertakes to repatriate him at their own cost.
- Justification Letter – justifies the skills and expertise for which the applicant is hired by the company and also confirming that his expertise is not available in India. Hence the need to employ an external resource.
- Employment Details Form – click on the link to download the form.
In the case of a Student Visa, you need to provide a letter of appointment which clearly indicates your acceptance to the course of study and duration. In addition you (the institute) need to provide proof that the course is valid under the relevant Indian Government Ministry. If in case this is not available, then the school needs to show proof that the course is governed and registered with a relevant body of study and the certificate awarded on completion of the course is recognized globally. This is mainly to safeguard against fly by night courses and institutes which operate in India.
Visa processing time generally differs from country to country but ideally take into account 7 working days.
Good Luck!!
expatguidemumbai 