Advice for US citizen wanting to live in India

machadinha · Apr 28th, 2007, 01:02

I really know very little about all this, but:

From what I read here setting up a fake company just for the sake of immigration is ill-advised. A legit business might be another matter though. See also the (in-) famous Foreign owned property in Goa, (part Two) and similar threads.

Maybe it's a matter of semantics, but getting married to your friend "may" not just be impossible, it is (as far as I know). (Come to think of it, would a foreign same-sex marriage be recognized btw? I doubt it, but interesting idea.)

So I guess that leaves you with the advise already given, e.g. the visa run aka border hop (always keeping your fingers crossed), or an (illegal, of course) fake heterosexual marriage. Or a legit business partnership, indeed. Second the idea of giving good thought to where to live; word has it keeping a low profile and in certain areas, it shouldn't be too hard. Anyway I'm sure you thought of that.

There are obviously plenty of foreigners who manage to stay somehow btw, it's just hard to get a clear answer as to how they do it. I guess marriage is a typical solution, and they tend not to advertize their personal solutions.

Good luck in any case.

Nick-H · Apr 28th, 2007, 01:03

Surely it is possible to form a business partnership with an Indian citizen to run a genuine trading business in India?

It is not impossible to do it without the Indian citizen.

What has become dodgy is the company-as-excuse.

I'm sure there are ways these guys can find to a business or employment visa --- and every possibility of spending more than 180 days here.

Mach (cross-posted) ---- far from the same sex marriage being at all possible here, homosexual relationships are still against the law.

machadinha · Apr 28th, 2007, 01:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

Mach (cross-posted) ---- far from the same sex marriage being at all possible here, homosexual relationships are still against the law.

Yes, I know. Would be interesting to know how foreign same-sex marriages would be dealt with though. Could open a world of possibilities don't you think? My guess is they'd just be ignored/null and void though.

Nick-H · Apr 28th, 2007, 01:16

I don't think they count for visas, do they?

Give it another decade or three; it will change.

.

.

Merchant · Apr 28th, 2007, 01:23

Quote:

Would be interesting to know how foreign same-sex marriages would be dealt with though

.

Here's the wikipedia rundown (see right sidebar) on which countries accept the validity of a foreign same-sex marriage:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage

India isn't one of them, and it will be a very long time before it even entertains the notion of a same-sex marriage. All Indian men are straight, remember? And they are all faithful to their demure and homebound wives. Haven't you been reading the papers?

machadinha · Apr 28th, 2007, 01:26

Yes, thanks. I was just going through this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_rights_in_India. Disputed as always with Wikipedia, but plenty of further pointers.

Googling around would seem to suggest that while illegal, sentences haven't been passed for decades btw. I'd assume discretion is very much the name of the game.

crvlvr · Apr 28th, 2007, 02:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by machadinha

(Come to think of it, would a foreign same-sex marriage be recognized btw? I doubt it, but interesting idea.)

From Wikipedia:

Quote:

Homosexual relations are technically still a crime in India under an old British era statute dating from 1860 called Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature.' Since this is deliberately vague in the past it has been used against oral sex (heterosexual and homosexual), sodomy, bestiality, etc. The punishment ranges from ten years to lifelong imprisonment.

Quote:

There is no legal recognition of same-sex couples under Indian law. During a recent visit to India by the Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was asked by a journalist what he thought of the new law allowing gay marriage in Canada. His reply was that "there would not be much appreciation for a law like that in India," and he went on to talk about how they were culturally very different societies.

Quote:

There have been a few cases of gay and lesbian marriages being conducted in India by Hindu priests as far back as 1993.[citation needed] However, these marriages have no legal recognition under Indian law, and often meet with societal disapproval.

TulsaisntFar · Apr 28th, 2007, 02:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by ananda2193

I'm sure Paul McCartney is feeling like a fool for not having a prenup.

As are the countless others.

Seriously!!

delhidjinn · Apr 28th, 2007, 02:11

Really? I don't think so, but I shall check and revert.

Seattle2India · Apr 28th, 2007, 03:23

Thanks again for all the feedback.

My partner and I were thinking about a home in Kerala somewhere. We were interested in a home close to the beach that we would run as a small guest home (Kerala has some very attractive incentives and easy requirements for increasing the number of guest rooms in the state).

What is of concern to my partner and I is the fact that initially he wants to continue to work at his job in Hyderabad while I oversee the guest home for the time being. He would commute every two or three weeks to Kerala to spend some time with me. Eventually, we have discussed selling our guest home (to a local, or at least another Indian citizen) and starting something else, perhaps even just buying a vacation home with the proceeds of the sale.

I think for the time being a ten-year tourist visa is the way to go. Does anyone know how it is viewed having a tourist visa and leaving and returning pretty often? I mean, if I stayed in India for five months at a time, returned to the US for a month, and then back to Inida for a couple of months, is this going to be a problem if I do this for a couple of years? Is this kind of back and forth travel going to look suspicious?

himadventures · Apr 28th, 2007, 06:24

I think suggestion to visit INDIA and have a feel of it is very good and safe. You have some options available but whatever you do- please do not get married to anyone for a fee. Once you are married- you are legally responsible for your 'wife'. She can create lot of problems for you. NEVER EVER DO THIS.

You can get a business visa-you should have documents to prove for business in India.

noflylist · Apr 28th, 2007, 06:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seattle2India

Thanks again for all the feedback.

My partner and I were thinking about a home in Kerala somewhere. We were interested in a home close to the beach that we would run as a small guest home (Kerala has some very attractive incentives and easy requirements for increasing the number of guest rooms in the state).

What is of concern to my partner and I is the fact that initially he wants to continue to work at his job in Hyderabad while I oversee the guest home for the time being. He would commute every two or three weeks to Kerala to spend some time with me. Eventually, we have discussed selling our guest home (to a local, or at least another Indian citizen) and starting something else, perhaps even just buying a vacation home with the proceeds of the sale.

I think for the time being a ten-year tourist visa is the way to go. Does anyone know how it is viewed having a tourist visa and leaving and returning pretty often? I mean, if I stayed in India for five months at a time, returned to the US for a month, and then back to Inida for a couple of months, is this going to be a problem if I do this for a couple of years? Is this kind of back and forth travel going to look suspicious?

Only to US immigration, not to Indian counterparts, speaking from experience about close relative

machadinha · Apr 28th, 2007, 06:47

<cross-posted with Nofly. Interesting suggestion that the US might actually cause you trouble, any more thoughts on that?>

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seattle2India

I think for the time being a ten-year tourist visa is the way to go. Does anyone know how it is viewed having a tourist visa and leaving and returning pretty often? I mean, if I stayed in India for five months at a time, returned to the US for a month, and then back to Inida for a couple of months, is this going to be a problem if I do this for a couple of years? Is this kind of back and forth travel going to look suspicious?

Hopefully others will step in with the latest low-down. It was never really a problem I think, with people hopping over the border for just a day or perhaps a week or so, although you'd always be at the mercy of whatever official you're dealing with. I don't know too many if any reports of it backfiring though.

However, from reading here they may (or may not) be clamping down on this of late, and that's pretty much all I know. The Nepali Indian embassy for instance seems to have a notice on their website that they will not entertain back-to-back visa applications, but reports vary whether this is implemented. It seems difficult to get anything definitive on this. Playing it by ear on the ground (as to what country to do it is best) & with a little luck might be the way to go. But it's a risk you take I guess, if only a theoretical one. (On the other hand: why keep issuing those ten-year visas to US citizens anyway if there are restrictions? Mind you just thinking out loud, this doesn't tell you anything about how Indian authorities currently see it.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by himadventures

but whatever you do- please do not get married to anyone for a fee. Once you are married- you are legally responsible for your 'wife'. She can create lot of problems for you. NEVER EVER DO THIS.

'Tis true, shouldn't be thought of too lightly. It's not a lunch date you're engaging in. I was about to do it once to help a friend, someone I thought I knew; I can't say I regretted having already cancelled the deal for other reasons when it turned out a little later she had gotten pregnant (you'd technically be responsible for the child no matter who its father till age 21 at least, at least where I live). (Come to think of it he must be about 18 now. How time flies

)

wonderwomanusa · Apr 28th, 2007, 08:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by machadinha

Would be interesting to know how foreign same-sex marriages would be dealt with though. Could open a world of possibilities don't you think? My guess is they'd just be ignored/null and void though.

Well, if one fellow is Indian and one a U.S. citizen, there's no possibility of a same-sex marriage to recognize, since the US does not allow such goings on. Yes, even in Massachusetts, same-sex marriages are recognized by the state (though I hear they will vote one of these days whether to keep or end them) but not recognized by the US government. <sigh>

machadinha · Apr 28th, 2007, 08:14

Hm yes, good point. Overlooking something again

Cultural blinders or whaddayacallit. Perspective, in short. (It's only been recently legalized in NL btw. The current debate is about whether current officials should be allowed to refuse to perform the marriage on conscientious objections. So far they are.)

Apr 28th, 2007, 01:02	#16
machadinha Not Your Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 10,574	I really know very little about all this, but: From what I read here setting up a fake company just for the sake of immigration is ill-advised. A legit business might be another matter though. See also the (in-) famous Foreign owned property in Goa, (part Two) and similar threads. Maybe it's a matter of semantics, but getting married to your friend "may" not just be impossible, it is (as far as I know). (Come to think of it, would a foreign same-sex marriage be recognized btw? I doubt it, but interesting idea.) So I guess that leaves you with the advise already given, e.g. the visa run aka border hop (always keeping your fingers crossed), or an (illegal, of course) fake heterosexual marriage. Or a legit business partnership, indeed. Second the idea of giving good thought to where to live; word has it keeping a low profile and in certain areas, it shouldn't be too hard. Anyway I'm sure you thought of that. There are obviously plenty of foreigners who manage to stay somehow btw, it's just hard to get a clear answer as to how they do it. I guess marriage is a typical solution, and they tend not to advertize their personal solutions. Good luck in any case. __________________ Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

Apr 28th, 2007, 01:03	#17
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 26,875	Surely it is possible to form a business partnership with an Indian citizen to run a genuine trading business in India? It is not impossible to do it without the Indian citizen. What has become dodgy is the company-as-excuse. I'm sure there are ways these guys can find to a business or employment visa --- and every possibility of spending more than 180 days here. Mach (cross-posted) ---- far from the same sex marriage being at all possible here, homosexual relationships are still against the law. __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

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Apr 28th, 2007, 01:16	#19
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 26,875	I don't think they count for visas, do they? Give it another decade or three; it will change. . .

Apr 28th, 2007, 01:26	#21
machadinha Not Your Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 10,574	Yes, thanks. I was just going through this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_rights_in_India. Disputed as always with Wikipedia, but plenty of further pointers. Googling around would seem to suggest that while illegal, sentences haven't been passed for decades btw. I'd assume discretion is very much the name of the game.

Apr 28th, 2007, 02:11	#24
delhidjinn Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New Delhi Posts: 29	Really? I don't think so, but I shall check and revert.

Apr 28th, 2007, 03:23	#25
Seattle2India Mike Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Seattle Posts: 9	Thanks again for all the feedback. My partner and I were thinking about a home in Kerala somewhere. We were interested in a home close to the beach that we would run as a small guest home (Kerala has some very attractive incentives and easy requirements for increasing the number of guest rooms in the state). What is of concern to my partner and I is the fact that initially he wants to continue to work at his job in Hyderabad while I oversee the guest home for the time being. He would commute every two or three weeks to Kerala to spend some time with me. Eventually, we have discussed selling our guest home (to a local, or at least another Indian citizen) and starting something else, perhaps even just buying a vacation home with the proceeds of the sale. I think for the time being a ten-year tourist visa is the way to go. Does anyone know how it is viewed having a tourist visa and leaving and returning pretty often? I mean, if I stayed in India for five months at a time, returned to the US for a month, and then back to Inida for a couple of months, is this going to be a problem if I do this for a couple of years? Is this kind of back and forth travel going to look suspicious?

Apr 28th, 2007, 06:24	#26
himadventures Maha Guru Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: India Posts: 1,070	I think suggestion to visit INDIA and have a feel of it is very good and safe. You have some options available but whatever you do- please do not get married to anyone for a fee. Once you are married- you are legally responsible for your 'wife'. She can create lot of problems for you. NEVER EVER DO THIS. You can get a business visa-you should have documents to prove for business in India.

Apr 28th, 2007, 08:14	#30
machadinha Not Your Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 10,574	Hm yes, good point. Overlooking something again Cultural blinders or whaddayacallit. Perspective, in short. (It's only been recently legalized in NL btw. The current debate is about whether current officials should be allowed to refuse to perform the marriage on conscientious objections. So far they are.)

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