help about visa issue!

olimpia_herciu

Hey guys! I'm new in these forums and for the last days I've been preparing for my trip to India and the more I read the more questions I have .
Well I'll start with the biggest problem.
A friend and I are going to Pakistan for a conference and since we are there we have decided to go to India too. The problem is that his passport will expire at the end of April 2006 (we plan to get out of India by the end of February) but the consulate persons told me that that's not the issue and no matter how long we stay the passport needs to be valid for at least 6 months and the only visa shorter than 6 months that they can give us is the transit one which is valid for 3 days
It is impossible to get now a new passport (as we are both Romanians living in Spain and Romanian embassy here can't do anything for us) and it would be shitty going to Pakistan and not going to India cause otherwise I don't know if I will ever have the opportunity to go again to India.

Is there any possibility to extend a transit visa in India (the info on the embassy website sais it isn't). We were thinking that he could apply for a transit visa and then report the passport stolen. Yeah, this is how desperate we are and willing to take almost anything to go to India!

Thanks a lot and will be back with more questions
Pia

seventies'hippy

Sorry but No No & No,,,,,,,,,
India won't give you visa if you've less than 6 months on your passport.
Transit visa's can not be extended.
And even if you were already in India, saying your passport had been stolen would only create even more hassle & red tape. Not really a holiday experience,,,,,,,,,,,,,

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olimpia_herciu

What can happen if he reports a stolen passport? can they track down the kind of visa he had?

what about overstaying? what are the options at the airport when we leave?

Malkers

They quite simply won't let you leave the airport if your passport is not in order.

Much that it is heartbreaking you are really in a no win situation here and yes they can track down what visa you had. Normal hassles are bad enough here, this would be a headache even a hardened indophile like me couldn't handle, the enjoyment from your visit by taking the chances you suggest wouldn't be worth it in my opinion

Sorry
Malc

kiwi_razz

Some friends of mine DID have their passports stolen. Apart from getting replacement passports (3 weeks for him), getting your exit visas is a frustrating exercise of bureaucracy.

Why not take the opportunity to see some more of Pakistan, and leave India for another trip.

olimpia_herciu

It's soooo hard with the money thing and this would be the perfect time to visit India.

I also have a Romanian friend who had the passport stolen (he was in India because he had to get the visa for Bangladesh) and from the Romanian embassy he received a paper so that he can travel out of India to Romania. He got the paper valid for 6 months!!!! (the guy was really understanding of his situation). So he is ok now...

I just wish somebody could give me an ideea of a way to get out of this.
We don't even need a visa for 6 months we just want to enjoy India for 3 weeks

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GoanCanuck

There is no possibility of extending a transit visa.

olimpia_herciu

I have just gotten vague information (from this forums and various other sites) that there can be issued visas for 3 months.

Anybody knows anything about that?

Thaks for your help!!!

iwanttogoback

you really need to check with the indian embassy/consul where you are.
and take the advice of others that lying and playing around with passports and visas is not a lighthearted thing to do.
perhaps you might like to do a little research on indian jails.

Nick-H

You only get a three-month visa if you belong to a group that India considers it has reason to be suspicious of, and for those people it is a pain in the neck.

Sorry, but this comes under the heading of you should have thought about it months ago. You didn't and that's tough: that's life. Just another "If only..."

Asking the question over and over because you don't like the answers you've got isn't going to get better answers.

Pakistan must be another of the world's most interesting places to visit (it certainly has fans among IMers). Go, spend more time there, enjoy.

Come home and get a new passport.

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skinnylizard

the six month rule is true for a lot of embassies worldwide. the United States and UAE come to mind immediately.

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olimpia_herciu

Well thanx a lot for the advices (it's true that I wish I had some other answers).
Tomorrow I will go to the embassy and try to talk to the consul for a short-term conference visa (the Pakistan embassy had no problem giving a 3-months one, although they too require 6-months validity of your passport).
And if that doesn't work I will take your advice and enjoy Pakistan and start saving money for the next trip - to India.

Pia

Nick-H

Good on you! Nothing wrong with one last try

Enjoy your trip, whereever you end up!

iwanttogoback

excellent - do it properly so there's no worries.
enjoy pakistan, and then you'll have india to look forward too.

olimpia_herciu

Well I guess it's obvious that I'm happy.
Just went today to the Indian consulate (after receiving the Pakistany visa) with a speech that I have prepaired for the last days, with plane reservation to show that we will be back in time and all the stress that I accumulated for the last days.
When I explain to the guy what the shit is he sais that it's no problem and the visa will be valid for as long the passport is . It will take around 10 working days for them to issue it so we shouldn't buy the plane tickets before we have the visa and "have a nice trip". I hope they will be on time (or not take more then 15 working days....)

With all the excitment we just decided that we will stay 3 weeks in India instead of 2