Applying for an Indian Visa in Spain

rogerprice

I live in Southern Spain and have planned a trip to India over Christmas.I am totally bemused by the apparent difficulties I now face in obtaining my visa from the Embassy in Madrid.
Last time I was able to apply by post but the official Embassy website is now saying they have outsourced the visa applications to a firm in Madrid.(Apparently a branch of the BLS Detective Agency in Delhi!!)
On going to this firms website I am told I can only apply in person with cash;or courier delivery with SEUR - and NO other courier company.
The instructions for the courier option are daunting - you have to make sure you send your passport by a specific delivery method and time or they won't accept it!There is a SEUR website but no way of ensuring these conditions are met.
The only other option is flying to Madrid.
Can I also say that there are several other websites purporting to represent the Embassy but are still advising that the whole thing can still be done by post.
Can anyone with recent experience or knowledge help with this tangle.
Why do they make it so difficult? It's Sri Lanka or Malaysia next time!

Jorge Reverter

Since 24 June 2009 indian visas in Spain must be obtained through:

ARKE BLS Center
Cardenal Marcelo Spinola, 4 - 1º dcha.
28016 Madrid

Phone: 917682089
Fax : 913845354
email: arke@indiavisados.com
web : www.indiavisados.com

Working Hours: 09.00 - 13.30 and 15.00 - 17.00

My advice is to contact them by phone.

Jorge

Angebeer

I've been asking around about the best way to apply for an Indian visa in Spain too. A friend who's been there a few times always goes through an agency but it's 30 EUR more. By going direct to the embassy (via ARKE using SEUR) one wouldn't think it could take too long as the website states it's 2 days to process. But my friend has heard bad stories about people having to wait for ages whereas a private agency will guarantee you get it within 21 days, and they can keep you informed as to what's going on. I'm sceptical to go through an agency since it seems like a waste of money, and I've now just received a reply from a random guy I emailed as follows;

My email to him: Mi novio y yo vamos a India. Tenemos que coger nuestras visas para India y quiero saber si tienes algunos recommendaciones??? Una amiga mia me ha dicho si vamos directamente al embajada de India en Madrid podria estar un reisgo porque ha oido de historias malas y que hacen mucho tiempo… pero para ir entre una agencia en Barcelona hay una guarantia que es el maximo 21 dias y esta. Es su preferencia pero cuesta 30 EUR mas que es mucho. Tienes algunos consejos para nosotros?

His email to me: I don't think there is any risk at going to the embassy in Madrid if you have a few hours to go there. But I guess you are living in Barcelona (so do I) so I tell you what I did to get my visa. You just enter the web site of the India embassy in Spain. They explain all the process in there. You just have to follow all the steps. You have to send your original passport to them so that they stamp the visa on it. They use a courrier company (SEUR, I think). It is safe. Don't worry about that. You will have your passport back and ready within a week time. I did it myself that way.

So... now I'm MORE confused! Does anyone else have any recommendations???

Haylo

Some agencies may develop contacts within an Indian Embassy, but no agency can ever guarantee their customers will get Indian visas, or that they will get visas within a certain time frame.

Unless their "guarantee" merely takes the form of a refund of their handling fee if the visa is refused or late, they are lying.

Please note that the language of this forum is strictly English, posting in other languages, even Hindi (unless it is a thread specifically about the language) is against the rules.

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machadinha

That's correct; I can vouch for the posted query above being legit though (if probably indicating an expat there?), and the quoted answer sort of explains it.

But generally kindly refrain from using languages other than English here then. For one thing, there's no way the international team of moderators here are gonna check on any subliminal stuff slipping in, and so your post will more likely just get deleted. It also won't help any of a vast number of international readers, of course.

nb

Why would one go by emailing any "random guys" anyway?

On the cost of an India trip, do you generally tend to lie awake over 30 Euros less or more (I'm not saying any agency would be my preferred course of action), and which in Spanish above you called "a lot"? (That's about what, two movie tickets in NL to me these days or so. Well, maybe three. A day's groceries for two perhaps. Yes, I know Spain is still a little cheaper -- but not that much. At some 2,000 Rupees, it wouldn't get me by for much longer as a budget traveler in India than two to four days if I had to all included either.) I think unless it were confirmed to me differently, I'd rather go by the embassy stipulations (or their officially outsourced services in many countries these days) and whatever they require of you. Yes, I realize in a country like Spain they may be a long way away; but there are telephones, faxes, email, possibly web application procedures now, and whatnot. And, in the final instance and if necessary, always that personal visit, certainly (realize not that long ago, so before this modern visa outsourcing which has really only taken off over the past two or three years, that was the only course of action anyway. Yes, such are the pains of life. Some of us with arguably a false sense of sentiment hark back to those days of some quite possibly cumbersome embassy visit, possibly a couple of them even, being all part of the great process of getting your trip started anyway. Do count your blessings.)

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Angebeer

Oops, sorry about the Spanish, apparently I just wasn't considerate enough of the moderator! I didn't bother giving details of why I emailed a "random guy" as I thought it was irrelevant but if you're really interested I don't mind explaining. Thanks for your replies!