Visa renewal process

robinwyatt

Hi folks,

I would like to know how I should go about renewing my visa once the initial period is up. When I was granted a research visa, I was given permission to undertake research in India for 28 months. However, the Assistant High Commission in Kandy, Sri Lanka told me that they would have to give me a 12-month visa and that I would have to apply for an extension of this (and therefore also my resident's permit) at the end of this period.

From previous advice given here, I understand that I have to apply to the FRO where I originally registered (Pune) two months before my visa and resident's permit is due to expire (they expire on 12th January, so that means 12th November). I also know that I cannot leave the country during this period.

My main complicating factor is the fact that I need to leave the country on 12th or 13th January at the very latest, as I plan to go to South Africa to celebrate my aunt's 60th birthday with her. This overlaps scarily with the date that my visa expires. So what I would like to know is whether I can depend on the Pune FRO (or whoever is responsible) to do the needful and issue me with a new visa and resident's permit by this date. And is there anything that I can do to ensure that the process is completed in as short a time as possible?

Also, I am now based in Delhi, not Pune. They told me in Pune that I should only apply to them for a change of address (and therefore competent FRO) if I were sure that I would be shifting for a period of many months. They said that this was because it's a tedious process. But now that I am in Delhi, am I going to need to make several trips to Pune during the 12th November to 12th January period? If so, would it be wise for me to apply for a change of location? To do this, do I need to go to Pune or can I do it here in Delhi? And if I need to go to Pune, approximately how long should I allow for my stay there?

Thanks so much!

Robin

seraph

I had a research visa and needed to transfer it from Kolkata to Puri. It involved going to the FRO in Puri where the police officers dictated a very long and formal sounding letter which I typed and copied for them. Several photocopies of each and every page of every document (e.g. passport, residence permit, police reports, etc) were required. Initially a bribe of 500Rs was requested, but upon haggling it was reduced to 200Rs. It took TEN WEEKS for my paperwork to physically travel the 330 miles from Kolkata to Puri.

Because of this and many other similar experiences with this particular Indian bureaucracy, I decided NOT to renew my Research Visa and to continue my research on a Tourist Visa. Of course, this involved leaving the country before 180 days lapsed.

Please note that ten months AFTER my paperwork was transferred out of the Kolkata FRO and three months after I returned to India on a Tourist Visa , I received a threatening letter from the Kolkata FRO stating that my Research Visa had lapsed and that I could be arrested if I did not immediately report to the Kolkata FRO. (I was no longer in their jurisdiction and had already returned my Residence Permit.)

robinwyatt

Thanks for this, Seraph. Would this suggest that I could get my change of location handled in Delhi, not Pune? The officials in Pune told me that I would have to apply to them for their permission in the first instance. But then there never seems to be any one hard and fast rule for such things, does there?!

Unfortunately, I don't have the option of doing this on a tourist visa because my research is sensitive and involves interacting with other arms of government. Such people always want to see proof that I am legit.

seraph

There are no fast and hard rules in India and what was true of Puri may not be so in Pune. However, based on my experience you would go to the Delhi office and show them proof that you are now living in Delhi and then they would have you write a letter requesting that your paperwork be transferred from Pune to Delhi. After that the FRO and/or the police will visit you to make sure that you are where you really say you are.

In any case, you can be pretty certain that if your research is really sensitive that the IB has been watching you for some time. My research was not really sensitive, but I know that many people with whom I came into contact were later interrogated.

BTW I met several people who had experience with the Delhi FRO and it seemed to me (based on their stories) that in Delhi they were more professional and efficient than in Kolkata.