Bangladesh for Visa Renewal ?

shanthi

Hey Gang I've made a search...... didn't find any answers, and wondered what people might have found when renewing India visa's in Bangladesh. Sri Lanka is a little unfriendly sometimes about this as I guess they know we're only using them because we have to I've got a buddy in Dhaka, and wondered if Bangladesh are any easier on the poor-well-healed-well-worn-India-Miker who just happens to "go on vacation" for a week or so just when their visa for India also happens to be expiring

gotta say, as I'm posting this, that this world-wide family of IMER's is great! and want to thank all of you for 1.) giving me a massive load of information, 2.) the greatest laughs I've had in years and 3.)for many individual's understanding and written support of what I personally have been trying to do in Tamil Nadu for the past 4 years. You are ALL wonderful people!
THANK YOU FROM MY HEART!!

machadinha

*bump* Mahmud where are you when we need you? Might be a little late for Bangladesh really, maybe bump again at a more likely (business) hour.

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shanthi

I'm sorry, I do not understand you post at all ......

- or perhaps I do

machadinha

"Bump" means bring it back to top on the frontpage, which happens if someone replies. Mahmud is a Bangladeshi IM member who I generally trust with the latest ins & outs, although visa requirements for foreign visitors to India might not be his main concern.

shanthi

How kind - thankyou! I've only renewed the visa in Colombo before - but now have contacts in Dhaka where I thought I'd perhaps go next April instead of Colombo - as SL seems to be getting a little fed-up with us.

machadinha

I hear Dhaka and Bangladesh is really nice anyway esp. if you know people of course so why not combine the practical with the pleasant!

shanthi

Yes, but I guess I have to find out if it's possible to get another India visa there before I get there and find out to the contrary!! I have no idea what Dhaka is like for giving India visa's

icetea

btw...why is this post in the Health and well being thread? not that renewing a visa doesn't contribute to both of them...but still

Shanthi so you have experience with getting a new visa from Sri lanka? My visa is also expiring in september and I have to get a new one...and as I am in TN I thought Sri Lanka is the best option, but I don't actually know how these things work...are they reluctant to give visas to non-residents...is it actually sort of not quite according to regulations to do this? I might actually get it from Delhi, the new visa, but just in case I have to go to SL, I have no clue how to go about it...as far as I understood I will have to be there for a week or so..so find a hotel close to the embassy and so...phew, I'm not looking forward to it. Any suggestions from your experience?

shanthi

I'm sorry, I really don't know how it ended up in health and wellbeing - I do apologise to all!

As far as Sri Lanka is concerned for visa's, apparantly ( and I've heard this from one or two of my volunteers that are running the other project for me in my absence) that Sri Lanka is becoming a little peeved knowing that we are just using them to renew visa's for India and are making people wait an innordinate amount of time sometimes, or telling them to re-apply in three months....leaving people stuck in SL with an acquired 30 day visa only, for SL and being told to come back in 3 mohts.......they're having to go on to Thialand or other places (if they have the money to do that though) and try to get visa's there. Very awkward, time consuming and VERY expensive. I got two visa's renewed in Colombo, the last one was last year and they didn;t really want to do it - they kept me for eleven days before I got someone to call them from India - otherwise I think I'd still be there !!!

You say you are thinking about Delhi for doing the same thing! When I went there last year, trying to get it done in India and remove the prospect of having to leave to do it - I was told by Delhi that they wanted 50,000 rupees - I had to wait in Delhi for at least ten days - and that there would be no chance of getting the money back - and that even then, it might not happen. I couldn't take that chance, of losing that kind of money and still not having the visa renewed, so I went to SL.

Alan D

shanthi

Your last post raises a number of issues that may be of interest to other members.

I presume you are referring to 6 month tourist visas or am I wrong on this?

I'm not clear as to who is making difficulties - is it the Sri Lankan or the Indian visa office? Normally there is a delay of some days if you are applying for a tourist visa outside of your normal country of residence. I've never understood clearly why this happens but it has been variously suggested that applications have to be referred back to Delhi, or that they have to check up with the original passport issueing authority.

All previous posts on the forum about obtaining a new visa in Sri Lanka have been positive, so clearly there seems to be a change in the air. Do you happen to know if this is a general trend or something directed at you and your co-workers, and if so, can you think of any reason for this?

When you mention a sum of money for visa renewal in Delhi I assume you were going through irregular channels, and very dodgy ones at that, if there was a chance you wouldn't even get the visa!

I'm not sure about Bangladesh, but Thailand and Nepal have both had good reports on visa renewal on the forum in recent times.

Bangadesh looks like the cheapest option though, so hopefully someone will come up with some info.

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What a long strange trip it's been!

Anders

They check with the Indian embassy in the country that you are resident in.

shanthi

Hi Actually not going through any dodgy channels whatsoever!! I could never do that, and would not! This was at the appropriate office in Delhi. The gentleman is an Official. The cost was not written anywhere - he just informed me! I could not afford to go to anyone dodgy - I have my little "son" in India and that sort of thing could result in me getting kicked out of the country forever - I couldn't bear THAT!! I have to be very careful how I conduct myself anywhere in India - as she is not keen on volunteers/do gooders/how ever you want to catagorise us

The two who were much delayed in Sri Lank in January and again in June were two volunteers of mine. Both eventually got the visa's renewed but had to wait for much longer than usual and were also told that "we are not just a convenience for you to hop over and renew your visa's - we do not like to keep doing this for tourists who are not really tourists!" They did not say they were volunteers - just that they were tourists and that as India was such a huge country that it was going to take them longer to travel around than at first thought! They had to give references - and an itinery. I wasn't asked for the Itinery, but I was asked if I was going to become one of "those perpetual tourists Madam?" I got a snigger too, but was afraid to respond myself with a snigger .....didn't want to put the mockers on the hand that was holding the visa ready to stick into the passport at THAT time!

Yes, it's always been a tourist visa. Yes, I do understand that a check is made where you originally recieved your visa.

I don't know a soul in Nepal, but would of course consider going there for visa renewal - if I could.

Merchant

If you can swing it, head for Dubai to get a new visa (and let's stop calling it visa "renewal"--tourist visas are not renewable!). It's only a few hours away by air, there are tons of flights, the place is ultramodern and airconditioned, etc. You will feel as if you are in some futuristic version of Mumbai.

shanthi

Well, I never thought of Dubai, at all! Thanks a lot Merchant - I'll have a look at flights etc in the next few hours (I DO like to get things done!!! guess it's best to be "armed" with alla the information in advance anyway - then there's no last minute mistakes or hick-ups!!)

Thank you so much for your interest here people - don't know what I ever done before IM......

icetea

Merchant, I must say ...you are very funny with your "visa renewal" issue :-)) You're right, of course...but we use the term since it's much shorter.