Applying for an Indian tourist visa in Bangkok

|'d be very grateful to know one simple thing about Indian visas in Bangkok, and this question is for people who have successfully gained visas in the latter half of 2012

Are they giving 6 month visas for India in Bangkok?
Did you get one yourself?
Were there any special difficulties?

Because no-one is answering these questions.
wezzley?
TatooLady?
What do you 2 say?

I have been getting my tourist visa in Bangkok for years without any problem. They did cut it to 3 months but then revised it to 6 months again. Ihave had 6 month visa's my last 2 visits. There was a gap in place of 2 months but now that has been abolished so no need to wait....so no problem.

I applied for 1st indian visa in 4 years on a UK passport, applied online and then via the VFS-approved courier service at chiang mai post office and opted to collect in Bangkok. I got 6 month double entry (apparently it was better to put double than multiple entry i think) in mid october. no questions or interview

theres 16 places around thailand (see link below), and passport is returned to post office or a local thai address, or bangkok pickup.

http://www.ivac-th.com/courierapplication.html

i applied the monday, and collected on the 8th working day, thursday of the next week (one day was closed for public holiday)

Hi MacleodlyGangings - YES I got a 6 month visa. YES I applied myself. NO there were no complications or surprises. Best wishes.

Nothing to say here, changed my post because pauloco answered it (how long it takes).

And cost please, for 6 month and 6 month double entry
Thanks

Just to share my experience of the almost transcendental process of applying for an Indian visa.
I apologize if I am just repeating some of the previous posts.

I went to the VFS office in Bangkok to get my 6 month Indian visa. January 28th 2013.
I am a UK national.
It now costs an astonishing 4590 BHT (153USD or 96 GBP) for UK citizens such as myself.
They said a USA citizen pays the same, I am not sure.
I don't think any other nationalities would be willing to pay so much.

It takes 6 - 8 working days to process the application and now they want PROOF OF INBOUND & OUTBOUND FLIGHTS!! (read on)

There is an initial document check outside the main room. You queue, he sends you off to get the right papers if they are lacking. When he is finally satisfied that you have all the documents that you need and that you are fully aware of the cost, he lets you pass into the main room, where you actually submit the application.

After they took my documents they made me wait for 5 minutes while they did some checking on my application and then they took the money (always reassuring when they take the money, it means they are that much less likely to refuse you!).

They asked for
1. The printout of the online application form. I think it prints out a bit different than you entered it, it seems to leave a gap on the second page where you enter your address in India. I entered a hotel address here by hand after the official at the VFS office pointed out the omission. At least make sure you know the name and address ofa a hotel in India where you are staying.

2. Proof of booking at an Indian hotel (this will be the same place that they will ask you to put on the second page of the online application printout, check the printout). If you have no proof then they will ask you to write a declaration stating which hotel you will be staying at (imagine the horror of actually staying at the same hotel for 6 months!). Any hotel that you will be staying at is good enough.
I am sure you could write the declaration before you came but it's no big deal to do it at the VFS office (if you do it beforehand then make sure it is addressed to the Indian Visa Office in Bangkok, maybe you should put the address too) and date it.

3. An extra one page form that non-Thai nationals have to fill out., called a REFERENCE form.
You can download that one at
http://www.ivac-th.com/pdf/non_residents_25102012.pdf
which I did but I think they will give you a copy at the VFS office too.

4. Proof of inbound and outbound flight. While we were queuing they guy taking the applications announced this new requirement. They were very firm about this!
I had no outbound ticket, I had declared that I was leaving overland to Nepal via Sonauli and this was accepted without problem.I took an e-ticket printout of my INDIGO inbound flight.
I applied today January 28th and I am flying out on February 9th, leaving 10 working days for them to sort me out. (so changeable.... when I applied for a visa in the UK in 2012 they were telling people NOT to book in advance because they were afraid of being sued for flight fees if they did not produce visas on time!)

5. Just one 2 inch x 2 inch head shot (on a white background etc). This should be attached to the printout of the online form.

6. 2 copies of the title page of your passport

7. One copy of your Thai visa, whether it is just an entry stamp or one of those bonified visas that you got from the Thai embassy before you entered Thailand.

OPTIONAL REQUIREMENTS
1. I am a "media professional", a photographer to be precise. I declare that on the application form and when I applied for a Visa in London last year and they made me declare I wasn't going to India for work. I decided to write a similar declaration this time, saying that I had no intention of doing any professional work in India, that I was there just for the purposes of tourism. I adressed it to the visa office and dated it. I forgot to ask if it was essential, but they DID take it and they don't usually take irrelevant documents).
2. I had an itinerary for the whole 6 month period and I gave it to them. It took me a lot of time to put it together, it included the names of hotels and train connections. DON'T GET FREAKED OUT, I don't think that it is necessary. If you look at the other posts here from people who got 6 month Indian visas from Bangkok recently you will see that they did not provide such a document (I only prepared it becasue I thought it was going to be hard to get a 6 month visa, but then they relaxed the rules ..... and increased the cost!). And other people queing with me did not have such a document. Nevertheless I gave it to them because I had prepared it ("I cooked it so you are goddam well gonna eat it!"). I think it was just accepted as further proof that I had arranged a hotel.

They reassured me that they would text me and email me when the visa was ready to collect and gave me a ticket to check online on the progress of the application should they not contact me.

Unfortunately, it is expensive for US & UK passport holders to obtain multiple entry visas to India. IIRC, single entry were quite a bit less money. As an American citizen, I was able to obtain a 10 year visa but this can only be done in the USA. If you are frequent traveler to India, perhaps you could enquire if you can also do this in the UK. This is a great source of revenue for the Indian Gov't. Too bad the money never reaches those who need it most in India.

US citizens pay 1000bht less than UK, that would be around 3500 BHT then for US folk.
Useful info on Indian visas from Bangkok
http://www.travelfish.org/blogs/thai...sa-in-bangkok/

The penalty for UK's occupation of India.

The penalty for charging Indians the same amount to enter the UK.

This Bangkok consulate link http://www.indianembassy.in.th/tourist_visa.php

gives very different and lower fees than the posters here have given. It says 6 month tourist visa is 1700 baht.

It also gives a price for the 10 year visa that is available to US nationals. I thought this visa was only available in the US !!!???

It also quotes a strange photo size?

- the UK didn't occupy India - Britain created it out of the remnants of the Moghul empire and a bunch of warring princely states.

<g> AndyD 8-)₹

2 points:
If you read lower down you will see revised fees for UK nationals.
If you read lower down for visas apply at VFS. Been that way for years.