I've overstayed my visa...

queue

Hello, all.

I've done a bit of searching, but haven't found exactly what I'm looking for. I've overstayed my 10-year multiple-entry Indian Visa (max 180 days/entry).* When I leave India shortly, I will have been here 282 days. Does anyone here have any direct experience with visa overstays and what happenend on departure? I expect to pay a fine of some sort, and that's OK. But I'd really not want my future access to India being restricted because a lot of my family lives here, and I hope to make many visits back here. It would be very dreadful if I come all the way here, only to be turned back upon arrival.

If anyone has any tales or tips on how to handle this situation, I'd much appreciate it. Much thanks in advance.


* Yeah, I know, I was stupid. As the expiration approached, I was frustrated with the visa extension or the PIO card processes. So, I just gave up and thought I'd deal with the consequences later. Well, now I'm dealing with the consequences, and I wish in hindsight, I had just plucked down to money to go to Nepal or somewhere else.

jyotirmoy

Look this issue had been discussed threadbare earlier, there had been suggestions from other people who had done this. Dont take this lightly. Contact ur embassy right away & think of some genuine sounding reason for this. Remember overstaying is a serious offence & consequences may turn out very bad. Never attempt to sneak out.
Good luck.

edwardseco

Its on another post but its basically a fine and a fee for what they should have allowed in the first place for a 15 day extension. However, you have gone beyond the norm so first do what jyoti suggested in case you get tossed into Tihar Jail..

jyotirmoy

Yeah edwarseco overstaying by 100 odd days is too damn serious hope the OP has by now contacted his embassy....

queue

What help would my embassy provide? Other than say, giving me the phone numbers to lawyers that I could contact?

jyotirmoy

You are going to need help my dear friend.. do contact ur embassy.

cyberhippie

Ouch talk to your embassy and expect to have to pay a fine to get out of this mess. As others have said 102days is quite a serious infraction!!

zzzehar

Whoa Whoa Whao ! did you talk ? what did they say?
did they just make you an Indian Citizen?

crvlvr

why is overstaying an indian visa such a big crime? People do it here in the US and can get their status " adjusted" without much fan fare. here is what I found after dsome googling:

http://www.indembassy.org.pe/english/servicios/visa.htm

Merchant

If certain elements of the US Congress get their way, overstaying your visa in the US will be a felony. Illegal immigration at the moment is a civil offense.

dzibead

I have no information about the consequences of overstaying one's visa in India, but it's really not true that in the U.S. people can just routinely "get their status 'adjusted' without much fanfare" if they overstay a visa, especially a tourist visa. A person who overstays a visa in the U.S. is subject to immediate deportation. Certain categories of work and student visas can sometimes be extended or adjusted more easily than others, but one shouldn't be cavalier about how easy or routine this supposedly is. I'm not saying that all over-stayers are deported, because they have to be caught and obviously most aren't, but it's misleading to suggest that it's no big deal.

dzibead

Not only will being in the U.S. illegally be a felony, even helping someone who's in the U.S. illegally will be a felony. God help us if the House of Representatives version of the immigration bill passes!

Yetijuice

"If certain elements of the US Congress get their way, overstaying your visa in the US will be a felony. Illegal immigration at the moment is a civil offense."

Were you thinking of Tom DeLay who will be resigning from the U.S. Senate and opening a condom factory? What the politicians are suggesting is that illegal aliens who enter the United States illegally would be charged with a felony (I prefer the current status quo of catch and release outside of the US border.). The politicians emphatically are NOT saying that a person who enters the US legally and overstays will be charged with a felony.

The term "illegal aliens" must be a post-Roswell, New Mexico phenomena. UFOs are a growth industry in America. I would love to see a UFO while trekking in Ladakh or Zanskar! The next best thing is the Pleaides meteor shower about the 10th of August every year.

Everybody who illegally enters a country is overstaying. There is no subset of illegal entry not being an overstay.

In the old pre-computer/internet days I frequently overstayed my visa in Nepal. An overstay of up to seven days was subject to a fine of 10 Nepalese rupees per day. If your overstay was greater than seven days you had to travel back to Kathmandu to get a visa extension. That policy is so 20th century. In the 21st century even an overstay in Nepal of one day requires a visa extension. Blame it on the computers!

dzibead

Actually, the House version of the bill, H.R. 4437, made not only illegal entry but also illegal presence in the U.S. a felony. The House bill's language, which refers to "an alien who lacks lawful authority to be in the United States," is extremely broad and would certainly encompass any person who overstays a visa.

So I don't know on what basis you say that, "The politicians emphatically are NOT saying that a person who enters the US legally and overstays will be charged with a felony," because the House version of the bill (which has been toned down by the Senate) would have done exactly that!

goangoangone

Rules are rules. Don't try and guess the outcome of breaking the law. With the terrorism situation today, illegal entry and overstay are becoming very serious offences.

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GoanGoan......here