Sri Lank to India

Indiamad

Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere.....

There's not really much info on here about Sri Lanka and was hoping for a little guidance.

Need to get my Indian visa in Sri Lanka and need to know the following:

Where can I apply for it, only Kandy or Colombo?
How long would it take?
Would I HAVE to leave my passport with them while it's being processed?
Do you need to show your passport when checking into a SL hotel/guesthouse like you do in India? (cos if the embassy has my passport I'll be buggered).

Ok...thanks a lot.

woodlouse

Hello
this was on my previous thread - but hidden under advice for SL visa extensions!
I applied for my Indian visa while in Kandy (but you can do it in Colombo as well) - just over a year ago. I presume it's similar for Aus nationals?

getting india visa in sri lanka:
to get india visa in sri lanka, you can go to indian embassy in colombo or kandy.
applications (for uk nationals) can take 5 days to process. eg - go in monday at 9am.
you need 2 passport photos, your travel itinerary for india, copies of flight tickets (to India), 2 copies of your passport. pick up application form plus application form for non residents.
you may then have to pay fee for application to be faxed - about 250 Rs
when you come back in 5 days you pay visa fee in the morning, then leave passport and come back in afternoon to get finished visa.

So, in answer to your qs, no you don't need to leave your passport, but you need to bring the copies with you
and, sometimes you need your passport when you sign in at a hotel.

re. speed, it took 5 days, which was a faff. but some people seemed to get it done more quickly, I think because they were volunteers or something.

woodlouse

sorry, you don't need to leave your passport (usually) until the final day. But ideally you would already be booked in somewhere then.

Indiamad

Thanks for that!!