Getting Married in India- Visa conversion questions!!

feli visco · Jun 12th, 2007, 13:37

Am in a rather sticky situation. My fiance (he is french) and I want to get married as soon as possible. He is here in India on a tourist visa and his visa expires on the 24th July 2007. It took us almost 2 months to obtain all the papers required for filing a marriage notice at the local magistrates office and we managed to do that yesterday the 11th June 2007. Hopefully we should be married in a months time.
The problem is that his tourist visa expires soon and we were hoping to get an extension or convresion into an X visa in India itself. I called the FRRO and they told me that it is a simple process that doesnt take too much time through the MHA. Someone please let me know what the process is. how much time it takes or even if such a thing is possible. Please help us!!! There doesnt seem to be any hard and fast rule about anything and we went through a lot of hassle just to get our marriage notice filed

Nick-H · Jun 12th, 2007, 15:23

This is my experience of marrying an Indian citizen with intention of living here with her.

In London I told I was getting married and asked for X visa: they said take tourist visa, get married in India and then apply for X visa.

When we applied for X visa in Chennai after marriage one official said we shouldn't have married on Tourist visa! Also we had an agent handling this for us who just screwed up entirely.

They want so many documents, affidavit, interviews, etc etc, all messing about.

We happened to be going to London anyway. Applied for X-visa there and got it in ten minutes with just marriage cert and wife's passport. They didn't even speak to wife.

When we returned to Chennai we had another round of difficulties getting residents permit. Mrs N marched into the Director's office! He was a gentleman, wrote notes telling to do what we asked, and said to me, "you have married an Indian citizen; you are welcome to stay her as long as you wish".

After one year of marriage we went back to Chennai FRRO for PIO. By this time we were known to people there and everything went smoothly. Astonishingly quickly, in fact!

It is impossible to say how it will be, dealing with government offices for this kind of stuff. It depends on who you get on the front desk, who they refer you to, what he had for breakfast, how greedy he is. But you're Indian... you know all this

.

Actually, with the actual marriage, a simple registration, we had no problems at all: just 30 days notice and a very unromantic non-ceremony!

Candyji · Jun 18th, 2007, 19:40

Hi Feli visco,

Congratuations on your soon to be wedding. The biggest challenge is getting all the papers together so you are half way there!

Your pictures need to be displayed for at least 30 days they will then call you back and with any luck you will get married within a few days. I was in Agra so it took forever.

I am on a business visa so I think it is slightly more complicated. But as soon as the application for the conversion of visa is in at the MHA you are fine until they make their decision. The only issue with doing it so close to the wedding is that they are also checking for those marrying to stay in the country and you will not have been legally living together for long enough. This is why they do an interview at your home.

As Nick says it is a real painful lengthy process so if there is a chance to go home to get the x visa it is easier and less difficult

Process in country.

Go to MHA early they should open the gate between 9.30am-10am. A queue will have formed. You are queuing to get a number to sign in a book to get in the building. This is a longish process you then go upstairs in the next building.

Take with you photocopy of passport, Visa, marriage certificate, proof of your Indian citizenship (passport is best but election card ok too.)

You will need to get two application forms from the lady at the desk to the left as you enter the room. Fill them in and give all the copies. Give the forms back to her.

Too the right in this same room are four or so desks with officers doing interviews. Make sure you are near enough to hear as they will call out your name. Desks are based on nationality.

You will then be interview. He will tell you to come back at 5pm to the original room you visited near the gate. You get your envelope which you take to the FRRO the next day.

I think for visa conversion an interview is manditory so you will have a wait of 1-2 weeks for this.

I will let you know the rest when it happens.

Candyji

India_or_Bust · Jun 18th, 2007, 20:10

I too am getting married in India in October (hopefully). But my tourist visa is only good until November. This is my first time in India and I must say that I'm rather a novice traveller. It never occured to me that things might be so complicated. Then again, I'm a Canadian working in the US so I should be used to it. haha. Thanks for the post though. Great tips.

Shivani Skydancer · Sep 23rd, 2009, 13:10

I may be getting married to my Indian boyfriend on my next trip to India

, but as we haven't made any definite plan or set a date yet, I can't apply for an X visa here in Australia (They require proof of the upcoming marriage).

So, I will be going on a 6 month tourist visa. Will this cause a problem when it comes to converting it to an x visa after marriage? (I intend just putting "tourism and visiting friends" on the tourist visa application form, to keep it simple.)

After going through several threads, it seems that some people found it is very difficult getting an x visa in India, while a few were able to do it.

Because of the cost involved, I don't want to travel all the way back to Australia. I also wouldn't like to leave my new hubby behind! Is it really a lengthy process to try getting the x visa in Delhi? He is in Dharamshala, so I assume we would need to go to Delhi.

Would it be easier to go to Kathmandu and apply for the x visa from there?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, and sorry, if it's somewhere hidden away on IM. I've read as many threads on this topic as I could find, but am getting more and more confused!

edwardseco · Sep 23rd, 2009, 13:43

Quote:

So, I will be going on a 6 month tourist visa. Will this cause a problem when it comes to converting it to an x visa after marriage? (I intend just putting "tourism and visiting friends" on the tourist visa application form, to keep it simple.)

That seems to be what most people do..

Candyji · Sep 23rd, 2009, 14:10

Dear Shivani Skydancer,

I have attempted to convert my visa twice first time I managed it the second they managed to keep asking for a file to be transferred from Delhi which never materialised so I had to go home to get it,(UK).

The first time did take 4 months but the difference was that I applied just before my visa expired so basically they had to do something. Second time I had six months left on my visa.

The more paper they can ask for the easier it is for them to not issue it.

Bare in mind at some point an officer will visit you at home to check your circumstance so how well settled you are will have a baring on the outcome.

To be honest my guess is that you will not manage to get married within 6 months if you have not started the process or even thinking about it as yet. Maybe you could try for a 1 year tourist visa.

I hope this helps, make sure you pack your patience.

Nick-H · Sep 23rd, 2009, 15:59

Quote:

To be honest my guess is that you will not manage to get married within 6 months if you have not started the process or even thinking about it as yet.

Well, it took me a year --- but that was getting around to deciding to marry!

Our actual marriage was arranged in a month (30 days notice) and the greater part of the work organising our personal celebration was done in the last two weeks

Shivani Skydancer · Sep 23rd, 2009, 17:22

Thanks all for your replies.

Candy ji, Australians can only get 6 month tourist visas.

We would only be having a very small wedding, basically the registry and dinner in a nice restaurant with just a handful of his family and our friends. So, as Nick says, it should be possible to organise in not much more than the required 30 days.

Candy ji, if you don't mind my asking, which file did they require you to get from the UK? I would like to come prepared...

Jun 12th, 2007, 13:37	#1
feli visco Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: new delhi Posts: 1	Getting Married in India- Visa conversion questions!! Am in a rather sticky situation. My fiance (he is french) and I want to get married as soon as possible. He is here in India on a tourist visa and his visa expires on the 24th July 2007. It took us almost 2 months to obtain all the papers required for filing a marriage notice at the local magistrates office and we managed to do that yesterday the 11th June 2007. Hopefully we should be married in a months time. The problem is that his tourist visa expires soon and we were hoping to get an extension or convresion into an X visa in India itself. I called the FRRO and they told me that it is a simple process that doesnt take too much time through the MHA. Someone please let me know what the process is. how much time it takes or even if such a thing is possible. Please help us!!! There doesnt seem to be any hard and fast rule about anything and we went through a lot of hassle just to get our marriage notice filed

Jun 18th, 2007, 19:40	#3
Candyji phir bhi mera dil Hindustani hai!!! Join Date: May 2005 Location: Agra Posts: 87	Hi Feli visco, Congratuations on your soon to be wedding. The biggest challenge is getting all the papers together so you are half way there! Your pictures need to be displayed for at least 30 days they will then call you back and with any luck you will get married within a few days. I was in Agra so it took forever. I am on a business visa so I think it is slightly more complicated. But as soon as the application for the conversion of visa is in at the MHA you are fine until they make their decision. The only issue with doing it so close to the wedding is that they are also checking for those marrying to stay in the country and you will not have been legally living together for long enough. This is why they do an interview at your home. As Nick says it is a real painful lengthy process so if there is a chance to go home to get the x visa it is easier and less difficult Process in country. Go to MHA early they should open the gate between 9.30am-10am. A queue will have formed. You are queuing to get a number to sign in a book to get in the building. This is a longish process you then go upstairs in the next building. Take with you photocopy of passport, Visa, marriage certificate, proof of your Indian citizenship (passport is best but election card ok too.) You will need to get two application forms from the lady at the desk to the left as you enter the room. Fill them in and give all the copies. Give the forms back to her. Too the right in this same room are four or so desks with officers doing interviews. Make sure you are near enough to hear as they will call out your name. Desks are based on nationality. You will then be interview. He will tell you to come back at 5pm to the original room you visited near the gate. You get your envelope which you take to the FRRO the next day. I think for visa conversion an interview is manditory so you will have a wait of 1-2 weeks for this. I will let you know the rest when it happens. Candyji __________________ Dance to the beat of a different drum.

Jun 18th, 2007, 20:10	#4
India_or_Bust Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 7	You read my mind!! I too am getting married in India in October (hopefully). But my tourist visa is only good until November. This is my first time in India and I must say that I'm rather a novice traveller. It never occured to me that things might be so complicated. Then again, I'm a Canadian working in the US so I should be used to it. haha. Thanks for the post though. Great tips.

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Jun 12th, 2007, 15:23	#2
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 36,231	This is my experience of marrying an Indian citizen with intention of living here with her. In London I told I was getting married and asked for X visa: they said take tourist visa, get married in India and then apply for X visa. When we applied for X visa in Chennai after marriage one official said we shouldn't have married on Tourist visa! Also we had an agent handling this for us who just screwed up entirely. They want so many documents, affidavit, interviews, etc etc, all messing about. We happened to be going to London anyway. Applied for X-visa there and got it in ten minutes with just marriage cert and wife's passport. They didn't even speak to wife. When we returned to Chennai we had another round of difficulties getting residents permit. Mrs N marched into the Director's office! He was a gentleman, wrote notes telling to do what we asked, and said to me, "you have married an Indian citizen; you are welcome to stay her as long as you wish". After one year of marriage we went back to Chennai FRRO for PIO. By this time we were known to people there and everything went smoothly. Astonishingly quickly, in fact! It is impossible to say how it will be, dealing with government offices for this kind of stuff. It depends on who you get on the front desk, who they refer you to, what he had for breakfast, how greedy he is. But you're Indian... you know all this . Actually, with the actual marriage, a simple registration, we had no problems at all: just 30 days notice and a very unromantic non-ceremony!

Sep 23rd, 2009, 13:10	#5
Shivani Skydancer ॐ Ψ ॐ Ψ ॐ Join Date: May 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 240	I may be getting married to my Indian boyfriend on my next trip to India , but as we haven't made any definite plan or set a date yet, I can't apply for an X visa here in Australia (They require proof of the upcoming marriage). So, I will be going on a 6 month tourist visa. Will this cause a problem when it comes to converting it to an x visa after marriage? (I intend just putting "tourism and visiting friends" on the tourist visa application form, to keep it simple.) After going through several threads, it seems that some people found it is very difficult getting an x visa in India, while a few were able to do it. Because of the cost involved, I don't want to travel all the way back to Australia. I also wouldn't like to leave my new hubby behind! Is it really a lengthy process to try getting the x visa in Delhi? He is in Dharamshala, so I assume we would need to go to Delhi. Would it be easier to go to Kathmandu and apply for the x visa from there? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, and sorry, if it's somewhere hidden away on IM. I've read as many threads on this topic as I could find, but am getting more and more confused!

Sep 23rd, 2009, 14:10	#7
Candyji phir bhi mera dil Hindustani hai!!! Join Date: May 2005 Location: Agra Posts: 87	Dear Shivani Skydancer, I have attempted to convert my visa twice first time I managed it the second they managed to keep asking for a file to be transferred from Delhi which never materialised so I had to go home to get it,(UK). The first time did take 4 months but the difference was that I applied just before my visa expired so basically they had to do something. Second time I had six months left on my visa. The more paper they can ask for the easier it is for them to not issue it. Bare in mind at some point an officer will visit you at home to check your circumstance so how well settled you are will have a baring on the outcome. To be honest my guess is that you will not manage to get married within 6 months if you have not started the process or even thinking about it as yet. Maybe you could try for a 1 year tourist visa. I hope this helps, make sure you pack your patience.

Sep 23rd, 2009, 17:22	#9
Shivani Skydancer ॐ Ψ ॐ Ψ ॐ Join Date: May 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 240	Thanks all for your replies. Candy ji, Australians can only get 6 month tourist visas. We would only be having a very small wedding, basically the registry and dinner in a nice restaurant with just a handful of his family and our friends. So, as Nick says, it should be possible to organise in not much more than the required 30 days. Candy ji, if you don't mind my asking, which file did they require you to get from the UK? I would like to come prepared...