Giving birth in India (FRO/visa question)

PaniPuri

The child is due in late December (Estimated date of arrival: December 24th)

I am an American citizen married to an Indian citizen and on a one-year x-entry visa which expires on March 22, 2008.


I have already contacted the US Consulate in Chennai and was told the child would be an American citizen at birth. Since my visa expires in March, I will be returning to the US along with the child.

So, of course as soon as possible we will travel to Chennai and register the birth and apply for passport. I neglected to inquire about how soon they will issue the passport, but an American citizen in a Western European country received her newborn child's passport two weeks after applying.


So, I assume we (husband, me and the baby) will go to Chennai in late January by train to apply for the passport and we'll receive it before Mid-February. I need to leave India before March 22.

My questions are:

1.) Am I correct in assuming I cannot book our tickets back to the US until I have the passport number of the child? This seems highly likely. If so, it will be very difficult to obtain airline tickets as it seems that time of year is very busy.

2.) I know we will need to obtain a Birth Certificate from the Municipality of Hyderabad (where we live and where I will give birth) but do I need to register the birth with the FRO? Will the baby need an exit permit or some kind of stamp on his/her passport in order to leave India?

2b.) If so, how long would you expect this to take? The FRO in Hyderabad is notoriously slow and we've only have bad experiences with them (Everytime we have needed anything from them, we've had to wait much longer than should be necessary, and pay a large "undocumented fee" when they finally did "the needful")

Thanks in advanced,
A PaniPuri addict

Nick-H

Interesting questions: i think we have members who may have experience of this situation. I'm afraid that doesn't include me.

But, anyway... Weclome to Indiamike.com!

I'm curious... do you have to register the child with the Indian authorities? Don't you register the birth, as that of a USA citizen, with the US Consulate?

<a few minutes later>

I just read this from the Consular site. Goodness, not only do they want a birth certificate, but practically everything else!

Note that you have to apply for a "CRBA" and can apply for the passport at the same time. Also that you can email them to get all the forms sent to you by post in advance.

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mairangi_vice

Hi, I have just this minute returned from the FRRO in Chennai where they processed my late registration application in only 3 days! So if they can do things that fast... hopefully the FRRO in Hyderabad can get their act together also.

PaniPuri

Nick-H-

Thanks for your reply. I am not concerned about the process at the US Consulate, and I will be going there as soon as possible after the birth of my child, in order to register his birth and apply for the passport.

My question was really, since the child will be an American citizen and departing on an American passport, wouldn't we have to get a departure stamp or whatever on the child's passport in order to leave? For myself, a foreigner on an x-entry visa, I will need to get some kind of stamp from the FRO in HYD before leaving, I've been told.

I'm just worried since we'll need to leave India less than 3 months after the birth and I doubt I'll be up to travelling to Chennai until a month or so after the baby is born - which means I'll have little time to prepare everything required.


Perhaps the easiest way to find out for sure would be to inquire at the FRO, but honestly I try to avoid that place as much as possible.

Darwish

Why Leaving India so soon. You can easily get the X visa extended in India or obtain a PIO card in India.

What makes you leave India within 3 months?

Nick-H

...I think she's going home.

Not everyone is as crazy as I am, wanting to stay permanently

PaniPuri

This is off-topic and all, but if you mean going to Delhi TWICE, to the MHA FRO there and being sent back to Hyderabad with an envelope, then sitting from 11am until 4pm nearly everyday for more than a week, only to be told to "come tomorrow" then paying more than 500rupees in bribes just so the bastard will DO THEIR JOB "easy" okay.

I have already been through extending my visa once and it was no walk in the park. I'll have been here for 2 years come March, and it's time to go home and visit the folks and show off the new baby.

While I'm in the US I'll certainly be applying for my PIO card, and expect much less hassle than I am sure to experience when applying in India.

PaniPuri

I'm surprised no one can answer my seemingly simple question -

If a child (Non INDIAN) is born in India and issued a foreign passport (ei, American or European) will the child require any sort of stamp on his passport to leave the country?

If the child has a "fresh" foreign passport with NO VISA, nothing, no stamp.. will there be any problem at the airport when leaving?

It seems to me that anyone without proof of permission to be in India, would have problems leaving the country. For example if I lost my passport, and got a new one issued from my home country, I doubt I'd be able to LEAVE India because there is no visa... I imagine I would have to present my case at the MHA or FRRO.


Anyway I have plenty of time to figure it out.

Amyth

I am sorry dear; I too might not be of great help in this regard as I have never done this before . Nevertheless, you can mail your query to info@vfs-usa.co.in and rest assure of the reply within two working days.

Hope this helps! Good wishes to the would-be-mom, and don’t forget to try Panipuri at Dadus!!

Nick-H

Please let us know when you do.

It's bound to be useful for someone in the future, even if we don't have any members at the present who know.

Amyth, I think you've got the wrong end of the stick: it is the Indian emmigration procedures she needs to know. She is, apparently a US citizen, and has got all the US consular information sorted out.

dan37_123

Carry the birth certificate, that will explain everything.

There wont be any hassels.

Congratultions and good luck.

Dan

onajourney

Our child was born in Delhi last year so I should be able to help with some of your questions.

I am not certain about this one since we had four months from the time our baby was born until we had to leave the country. But I assume this is correct.


Yes, you will need to go to the FRRO in order for your child to get his/her exit visa. You must wait until you have obtained the passport from the U.S. consulate.

This process took me two days in Delhi. You had to go to one office one day to get some paperwork approved, and the following day, you had to go to another office (FRRO).

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need any more help.

ISN

You don’t need a passport number to book your tickets, the agents in India ask for the passport copy because most of the times people misspell their name and they argue with the agent that they gave the right name and so the ticketing agents always request a copy of the passport.

Getting a U.S passport is taking a long time now since the U.S government made it mandatory for everyone who is traveling to carry a passport. Request for a expedited passport, they charge a little bit more for this process. You can track your passport on-line. http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

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onajourney

In Delhi last fall, the waiting time for acquiring a new passport was about 7-8 days. I don't know how much the new rush for passports is affecting things here in India.

Nick-H

What new rush for passports?

Surely things in USA can't be that bad?

Can they?