10 year visa question

caliyogi · Aug 9th, 2003, 00:26

hello this is my first time to india but i want to get a 10 year visa (I'm a US citizen), i will probably stay over 6 months this time and i plan on coming back. i read on a previous thread that 10 year visas are only for people who have been before. my question is, will i be able to get a 10 year visa? i will send it the application to the San Francisco consulate. Should I say I have been to India before? My passport is 5 years old, i was thinking of saying i was there 6 or 7 years ago so if i was there, my stamp would have been on my other passport. any ideas?

wonderwomanusa · Aug 9th, 2003, 06:00

Why not go once and see if you like it?

I've found that life does happen to us when we're making plans.

I thought I'd be back in India a year or so after my last visit, but in fact, it has been damned difficult to get my life in order so's I can go back there... so it's been what? <counting> 13 years?

First, there was nobody I could trust to take care of my cats and plants for three months. Then I became unemployed, and then self-employed... it was five years before the business could support me. Then there was the catsitter problem again... and finding someone whose phone number I can leave if my clients need help while I'm away.

Perhaps your life is simpler.

indiamike · Aug 10th, 2003, 07:43

Your best bet is to just make a quick call to the San Fran Consulate to inquiry about the ten year visa. Tel: (415) 668-0662

When it was first introduced it was mainly intended for frequent visitors to India, however this may not be the case anymore and a quick call to the consulate could probably save some headaches.

Remember though, if it's a tourist visa it will be valid for ten years however you will only be able stay in India for 180 days maximum. It's not a golden ticket to an unlimited stay.

Hope this helps some.

Oh and going off topic a bit my favorite quote from the San Fran Consulate website-

Quote:

BEWARE Foreigners should not buy, sell or use psycho-tropic drugs or any other narcotic substances while in India, as their purchase, sale or possession is a cognisable offence punishable by imprisonment

Not sure what psycho-tropic drugs are but all I know is I want some

jackthemac · Aug 11th, 2003, 05:39

I travelled with and American who obtained a ten year visa on his first visit. He did use an agent though

Rossinm · Aug 11th, 2003, 11:50

I have a 10 yr. visa- as does my husband and all we did was fill out the appropriate form and drop it off at the desk at the consulate in DC. Nobody asked us if we had ever been to India before, etc. I was a first time visitor before I got the visa- as was he. It does save a lot of hassle and money if you plan to visit frequently. You can only stay 180 days then you have to leave for a couple days. Hope that helps. I would recommend one as it nice not to have to think about visas before every trip.

On the transferring of visas to a new passport- I htink it costs $20 US to get the visa transferred. Even with that fee- you save if you make 3 visits in a ten yr. period.

Watson · Aug 11th, 2003, 20:18

I just got my third VISA in my passport. I guess a 10-year visa would have been worth it for me. Any one happen to know how much the 10 year VISA costs in Euro?

edwardseco · Aug 12th, 2003, 13:11

My 10 year was a bargain as visa rates went up but I have to be able to move at a moments notice due to family concerns in India. For a first time visiter why? You may hate the place as my old boss did..

caliyogi · Aug 12th, 2003, 23:53

i went ahead and applied for the 10 year visa and said i had never been before.

i want a 10 year visa because there is a good chance i will stay past 6 months and then i won't have to deal with getting a new visa. plus i will probably go again - i doubt i will just hate it. probably love/hate it.

wonderwomanusa · Aug 13th, 2003, 04:35

Quote:

i want a 10 year visa because there is a good chance i will stay past 6 months and then i won't have to deal with getting a new visa.

Note that according to the Indian Consulate in San Francisco, your stay is limited to 180 days (6 months) at a time. If you want to be there longer, you'll have to go out of the country and then return.

caliyogi · Aug 22nd, 2003, 03:58

i got my 10 year visa back today from the san fran consulate, no problems. it was really quick, only about 1 week. i didn't use any references in india, only 2 in the US.

i am aware that I need to leave every six months, thanks. it's just easier to get back in after leaving !

bijapuri · Aug 22nd, 2003, 13:39

well, the main reason I get 10 year visdas is that I remember the days way back when anything more then 3 months for Americans was a tremendous hassle.
oh yeah, then I got busted for drugs, which sort of put them off anout me . . . .
now, I'm a drug counselor, have worked in B'lore and Kolkata as a consultant helping clinics there, and the visas take a few hours for 10 years, but I still sweat it every time I apply!

BiJ

bijapuri · Aug 22nd, 2003, 13:41

I swear I don't do drugs, but my typist does!

Aug 9th, 2003, 00:26	#1
caliyogi Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: California, USA Posts: 41	10 year visa question hello this is my first time to india but i want to get a 10 year visa (I'm a US citizen), i will probably stay over 6 months this time and i plan on coming back. i read on a previous thread that 10 year visas are only for people who have been before. my question is, will i be able to get a 10 year visa? i will send it the application to the San Francisco consulate. Should I say I have been to India before? My passport is 5 years old, i was thinking of saying i was there 6 or 7 years ago so if i was there, my stamp would have been on my other passport. any ideas?

Aug 9th, 2003, 06:00	#2
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 3,259	Why not go once and see if you like it? I've found that life does happen to us when we're making plans. I thought I'd be back in India a year or so after my last visit, but in fact, it has been damned difficult to get my life in order so's I can go back there... so it's been what? <counting> 13 years? First, there was nobody I could trust to take care of my cats and plants for three months. Then I became unemployed, and then self-employed... it was five years before the business could support me. Then there was the catsitter problem again... and finding someone whose phone number I can leave if my clients need help while I'm away. Perhaps your life is simpler. __________________ The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

Aug 22nd, 2003, 13:39	#11
bijapuri laid traps for troubadours Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Priustan Posts: 2,601	well, the main reason I get 10 year visdas is that I remember the days way back when anything more then 3 months for Americans was a tremendous hassle. oh yeah, then I got busted for drugs, which sort of put them off anout me . . . . now, I'm a drug counselor, have worked in B'lore and Kolkata as a consultant helping clinics there, and the visas take a few hours for 10 years, but I still sweat it every time I apply! BiJ __________________ Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential. Barack Obama lookit me!!!: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bijapuri/ Utube fuzzy logic: http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=bijapuri&p =r

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Aug 11th, 2003, 05:39	#4
jackthemac Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 7	I travelled with and American who obtained a ten year visa on his first visit. He did use an agent though

Aug 11th, 2003, 11:50	#5
Rossinm Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Ohio, USA Posts: 42	I have a 10 yr. visa- as does my husband and all we did was fill out the appropriate form and drop it off at the desk at the consulate in DC. Nobody asked us if we had ever been to India before, etc. I was a first time visitor before I got the visa- as was he. It does save a lot of hassle and money if you plan to visit frequently. You can only stay 180 days then you have to leave for a couple days. Hope that helps. I would recommend one as it nice not to have to think about visas before every trip. On the transferring of visas to a new passport- I htink it costs $20 US to get the visa transferred. Even with that fee- you save if you make 3 visits in a ten yr. period.

Aug 11th, 2003, 20:18	#6
Watson You look, No Problem! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 229	I just got my third VISA in my passport. I guess a 10-year visa would have been worth it for me. Any one happen to know how much the 10 year VISA costs in Euro?

Aug 12th, 2003, 13:11	#7
edwardseco Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Land that shakes and bakes. Posts: 3,793	My 10 year was a bargain as visa rates went up but I have to be able to move at a moments notice due to family concerns in India. For a first time visiter why? You may hate the place as my old boss did..

Aug 12th, 2003, 23:53	#8
caliyogi Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: California, USA Posts: 41	i went ahead and applied for the 10 year visa and said i had never been before. i want a 10 year visa because there is a good chance i will stay past 6 months and then i won't have to deal with getting a new visa. plus i will probably go again - i doubt i will just hate it. probably love/hate it.

Aug 22nd, 2003, 03:58	#10
caliyogi Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: California, USA Posts: 41	i got my 10 year visa back today from the san fran consulate, no problems. it was really quick, only about 1 week. i didn't use any references in india, only 2 in the US. i am aware that I need to leave every six months, thanks. it's just easier to get back in after leaving !

Aug 22nd, 2003, 13:41	#12
bijapuri laid traps for troubadours Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Priustan Posts: 2,601	I swear I don't do drugs, but my typist does!

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