Visa Guidance

richie4india

I think I am correct here but I am looking to stay in Goa for 6 months from November 2007 as a volunteer.

The Visa for me will be the Tourist Visa?

If I was to stay on for a further 6 months after obtaining a new 6 month Visa. Would I be eligible to apply for residency after returning on my new visa or do I have to stay 182 days in a row? The stay should not exceed 180 days though!

Ideally I would stay for 6 months. Leave and get a new Tourist Visa and after say 1 month apply for residency as my total stay in 1 year would currently be 7 months, is this possible?

Many Thanks & Regards
Richie

edwardseco

Yes but it is only good for 6 months from issue! It can't be renewed for all practical purposes. You will need to leave the country to get a new visa. Don't blame the messenger, its just the way it is. And they don't want you getting a residency permit. There are some very good threads here on just what that involves (a lot)..

richie4india

I know you have to leave the country! That is why I am asking

edwardseco

Its contiguous time not elapsed time in a year that gets a residence permit so that gets back to the core of the problem..

richie4india

They are buggers ! If I have a residency Visa...then all is good!!

edwardseco

Ihear you and second that..

richie4india

Even so, surely if I go on a 6 month visa, leave and re-visit on another 6 month visa. My total stay woul be over 182 days although not 182 days in one visit. This will suffice for residency?

machadinha

No it wouldn't be.

See also Foreign owned property in Goa, (part Two) & similar threads.

As for your other questions, yes it looks like you can do volunteer work on a tourist visa, presumably it helps to not go shouting off the rooftops what you're doing (and a work visa is something you don't want to deal with unless you have to). And yes, you can do the visa run, always at your own risk of course. But no, your stay will never exceed those 180 days (or 182 or whatever). It's somewhat mystifying moreover why people should think it would be.

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richie4india

No I know this. However, I have people heard that the stay needs to be within one year and does not have to be one whole stay.

So that wouldn't give me residency even that I would have stayed for 182 days in any one year. If only the UK Government was this strict!

machadinha

What makes you think it isn't? You'd like to emigrate on the fly but have a problem with immigration, or what?

richie4india

Oh did I say I want to move to India? No I have asked a question relating to residency Visa and a short stint in an Indian Call centre!

India does not have the problem the UK has with immigration...it has a problem with property purchases etc!

machadinha

Yes it does. The immigration issue is largely regional but no less real, Westerners hardly feature in the equation.

I thought you were going volunteering?

To my best knowledge non-westerners can't just show up anywhere in the west and get a job, no matter how much they'd like to. You'd need a contract already etc., not that much different from Indian requirements I'd say.

ba9rn

Your original post mentions voluntary work. Most people do this on a tourist visa. It's unofficial though, but as the work is unpaid and is for the general good of India, the authorities tolerate this.

You also state that you want to 'apply for residency'. Certainly sounds like you are looking for more than a 'short stint'!

You ask above:Franky, Yes! :

Here... Moving to India
and here... India work

If you want to work in a call centre for a 'short stint' you need an empoloyment visa. You need Indian 'sponsors' to get one - the up side (if you get granted the visa) is that the 180 day limit goes away.

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richie4india

Errr No that means didily squat! I want to do the call centre work etc while I travel...I am interested in knowing IF I can get a residency Visa...that is all

ba9rn

OK, I'll play just once more. It is you who is clouding the issue by asking about volunteering at the start of this thread and working in other threads. The distinction being that one is paid.

So the answer to the simple question you now post is yes it is possible. But first you need a job. The company (eg. call centre) has to sponsor your application for an employment visa. Then you can arrive and work.

There is no way (legally) for you to work (for pay) on a tourist visa. Nor may you stay for more than 180 days - which also means that there is no way to gain resident status with a tourist visa.

And yes, UK immigration is equally strict. It just may not seem that way sometimes. But you must be aware of the term 'illegal immigrant'. That is what you would be in India, if you do not obey the rules. You might (like many in the UK) get away with it for a while. But don't think you will be treated too leniently if you are caught. That's where the UK is law is different.