missionary/tourist visa

hannahbw

Hi all,

The Indian consulate in Houston won't give me a tourist visa because I (mistakenly, I now realize) put "volunteering" as my reason for going to India. How difficult is it to get a "missionary" visa? I'm not doing anything shady or anything that will reflect poorly on the Indian government (volunteering with an organization that runs alternative education programs for kids).

Any advice would be great!
Thanks!

edwardseco

That is worse than applying for a research visa in political economy. Actually, my visa had a restriction of area placed on it because of the activities of a character who purportedly tried to set up a christian state in the tribal area of the district..

Munivar

'missionaries' (especially American types) are frowned upon increasingly nowadays because of the 'work' done by them.

Maybe you can ask for an interview and try to explain that it is genuine charity work and you are not someone with a conversion or other subversive agenda.

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Nick-H

Your organisation should guide you as to what kind of visa you require and how to apply. If it is a religious organisation they should provide the necessary paperwork inviting you.

Grant of the visa is, obviously, at the discretion of the authorities. It may be that they are being completely unreasonable, it wouldn't be a first among the worlds immigration-control authorities, or they may even know more than you do.

It is still a mystery to me to know what sort of visa volunteers, in general, should get.

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IndiaMike Mod Team (The Grumpy One)

hannahbw

thanks, all. Yes, I guess I'll call the consulate; ever since they started outsourcing their visa operations, things have gotten much more complicated

machadinha

For official departments and regulations, in the "links" link in my signature you'll find the appropriate ministries, government portals and so on, under "Official Websites." I have trouble finding anything in a jiffy regarding the stipulations of the less regular visas if you will, but maybe if you look on.

I suppose discussing your situation with your employers and with the consulate now that they know your intentions anyway is your best bet yes; good luck with it, let us know how it works out.

My guess is unless you're a serious missionary in the first place, that would be an even worse/more complicated route to follow indeed. And that no one will mind if you do some low-key volunteering on a tourist visa, but that is just a guess, and it's not gonna help you now. For more high-profile work for some NGO or so, I'd expect your employer should (help you to) take care of it yes.

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federica

If it is possible, try to discuss your visa situation with the consulate directly. Most probably your NGO can't help too much as different consulates/embassies give different kinds of visas for the same purpose.

The registration no. with the ministery of home affairs of your NGO can certainly be helpful, also an invitation letter where your volunteer position is clearly mentioned. Try to be very patient.

A phone call is mostly not very helpfull, but it is better than nothing. If you can't go for an interview, maybe a letter with your intentions would be better than the phone call...

My experience is that "missionary work" in India is something not appreciated, so better avoid to apply for a missionary visa.

Good luck!