Applying for an Indian tourist visa in Bangkok

oh and it was in Colombo...

Because of current unrest in Thailand I've now decided to head to Colombo instead of the previously planned Bangkok to apply for another Indian Visa.

Can someone recommend a budget ($10-12 US) guest house which is convenient to both the India Visa Centre on Galle Road and the India High Commission where the interview is held?

Thanks

does this mean i can get a visa in chang mai via the GDA couriers? This would be much more helpful.

I have heard such. But, I haven't tried it..

do you think it would be possible to apply on a monday, and instead of getting it that friday,or the next monday, i could get it the next thursday.

Would this matter to them if they had to keep it a few extra days.

The thing is il arrive in Bangkok on Monday 20th july and i could apply for it then.

I have a flight booked for the 31st but i dont want to have to wait around in Bangkok for a week as its a shithole.

So my plan was to apply for it on monday the 20th and then head to Chang mai for a week and a half and then pick the visa up when i get back to Bangkok on the thursday morning?

Would they have a problem in doing this?

Many thanks

James

James1985, there is absolutely no problem with that. You can ask them when you apply. However the real process of issuing visa begins in the morning of second visit - on the first day you just fill application form and submit copies of passport and photos (they have some requirements what kind of photos they admit, please check with internet info on VFS site), then after one week visitora are requested to submit passport if there is positive decision to issue visa and the same day after 4 PM passports with visas can be picked up. In some cases VFS can take passport on the first day, then visitor can just pick up his or her passport with visa on any day after one week.

Ok thats great, i read that the photos they want have to be with blue backgrounds, is this true?

We had also planned on getting a chinese visa in between this time in chang mai aswell, so we wouldnt be able to leave our passports with them. But i will just see what they say when we get there!

that doesn't sound right, as far as i know you must have a white background on your application photos (makes sense!), most of the embassies are getting the application forms scanned into a database as well and the photos must be cropped to fit in the box provided.

ok thats cool then, il just get white photos.

On the visa form it asks for references in india, i have none so is it ok to leave this blank?

I apply in two days, james

Some Embassies are fine with it being left blank, but even in those you can get an occasional visa officer who decides to throw out applications for being "incomplete". Best idea is to put the details of two hotels that you will (or might!) be booking into.

Haylo is right... however, you can always plead ignorance as well... and if they say 'no, you must put references', then whip out your LP or whatever you use and just fill in two addresses as well. they are not usually strict on this point in applications for simple tourist visas.

Any more recent experiences of the Banngkok visa situation??

Is it possible to email the initial visa application form to them and then go 5 days later with passport.

I will be in Laos, and if I can't email the form, I will have to travel all the way down to Bangkok to hand in the form, then travel back up to Chang Mai. Something I don't want to do.

What are peoples advise on this?? Could I get a company in Chang Mai to courier the form then head down 5 days later with my passport??

Any help much appreciated.
Jim

Does anyone know about An American getting a 10 year Indian visa through Bangkok or Chiang Mai? I am in India and 4 months into my first 6 month visa. I am heading to Thailand for 3 weeks this month, and thought this would be a good time to renew if I could get a longer visa.

Anyone ever get a 10 year visa for India in Thailand?

Thanks

People, applying for Indian visas in Bangkok, should note that the Visa Section is no longer at the embassy in Sukumvit, Soi 23 but at...
No. 1, 15th Floor, UNIT 1503, GLAS HAUS BUILDING, SUKHUMVIT 25,
BANGKOK – 10110. TEL: 02-6652968 FAX: 02-2605829
Website: www.ivac-th.com Email: info@ivac-th.com

There is no very near Sky Train station but Asok would be the nearest, then a motor bike. tuk tuk or regular taxi, which is a bit of a pain (cost about 40 baht).
The Thai company that handles the applications is efficient and friendly. They have a photo copy machine for applicants to use (3 baht a copy) , but no photo taking service. The form states that you need two 2X2 inch photos, but no photographer knows anything about inches, these days. However, they do accept the regular passport size, whatever that is. The forms can be downloaded from http://www.indianembassy.gov.in/bangkok/visa.htm. The security guard on the door even checks your forms before you are admitted to the office. The office now takes applications from 9 am to 3 p.m. and, recently, I collected my visa after 4 pm on the following working day (as a Thai resident).

There is an additional short form for non Thai residents. That is, non Thai citizens, not in possession of a work permit or residence visa (business or retirement). In that case you need to provide a photo copy of your residence visa, not the most recent, strangely enough, but the oldest. They need to establish at least three years residence in Thailand.
The additional, non Thai resident form, states that the visa will be issued after 72 hours, if no objection is forthcoming. There is a poster in the office , announcing a courier service, so, for a fee, you can have your passport returned to any location in Thailand.
As for the required referees,(two in India and 2 in your home country) that caught me out the first time too, but the woman at the desk told me to just write anything. I think I wrote something like A. Kumar 4 High Street Kolkata. Next time I was prepared and wrote the name of a guest house and of the guide that I used last time, but I didn’t have the full addresses.
The sting in the tail for all this is that, the Visa fee is 1000 baht and the service fee is 1700 baht, making a whopping 2700 baht (55+ Euros; 48+ English pounds; 80+ American dollars). Courtesy and efficiency, it appears, doesn’t come cheap.