visa problems!! Getting a Long Term Visa

alabamagoa

Just wondered how many people from various parts of the world have had trouble getting visas to come into india, ie long term, X, as i have only spoken to some french people and they have kept things close to their chests by not saying anything about how long they have, what sort of visas they have.
As a british citizen many of my friends have had lots of problems, lastest one you cant have more than 3 visas from a different country and have to go back to your own country and then may have to wait 2 months before being given a new visa!!!!thats ok if your travelling or on holiday no good if you have settled here and have nothing back in the UK.

Nick-H

I guess those who feel the need to keep this information close to their chest are either English () or have some reason for not making their visa status, or how they got it, public.

I am married to an Indian citizen, thereby I have a PIO card, it is valid 15 years. I hope the marriage, status, and Indian residency will all be indefinite!

Other situations such as employment or study, whilst not necessarily indefinite, are equally clear cut.

I guess that you must meet many people in Goa whose situation, given the moving goal-posts of the government's attitude to property purchase and residence there, are very far from being clear cut.

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Valini

Hello alabama,

Yep I agree, anyone who has acquired their long term visa X or other in the right channels wouldn't mind telling you HOW they did it. If someone has something to hide, there's probably a very good reason and they don't want to expose themselves!
Tread carefully.... I read an articel about a canadian man who has just been released from gaol after 10months after being bribed and duped by indian border police on the Nepal frontier. Not Goa, but it just goes to show that some risks aren't worth taking!
V
http://www.aujourdhuilinde.com/actua...a-1312.asp?1=1

Mod note: Warning... link target is in French

Nick-H

That is a thread about that story, including a link to English-language news coverage here.

Not really relevant to this thread, but certainly indicative of how awkward officials can be. This particular awkwardness cost the guy ten months in prison!

Valini

Thanks for adding the Enlgish link Nick, I didn't think to mention it was in french sorry

alabamagoa

You got me wrong!! I was'nt meaning dodgy visas, just wanted to know in general if the X visa non extension, or not being given a long term visa was only a british problem and are only brits being targeted, or is this a problem for everyone?

Nick-H

Oh, I see...

Then, I'm afraid I have no idea .

Shivani Skydancer

Hi Alabama Goa! I also would love a long term visa!

When my friend from the US applied for her visa in California, they offered her a 10 year Indian tourist visa!
Wow, how unfair - UK and Australia ( I'm an Aussie) along with India, are part of the Commonwealth and yet we can only get a 6 month Indian tourist visa!

I guess we'll have to find Indian spouses ...

machadinha

I think there's a bit of a garble here (and there's a lot of info on it already on this site, so look around some), let's see if we can unravel:

These are all different things.

The X visa is for the spouse (and possibly kids?) of someone legally staying in India I believe, and bound to their being legal there.

There are certain long-term tourist visas for US, and, I believe, UK citizens (and perhaps some other nationalities?) Just enquire with your Indian embassy or Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These typically require you to leave the country every 180 days; the only difference seems to be you won't technically have to apply for a new visa, you'll just be re-entering to renew your visa; on a normal tourist visa, no extension or renewal as such exists (one has to get an entirely new one). Note that the latter applies to most any other nationality, and you won't automatically get a 6-month visa to India everywhere in the world. It's also not (or no longer) a Commonwealth thing, it just has to do with bilateral agreements. In other words and to stop any weird rumors that regularly rear their head: Other than those two nationalities and whatever other nationality may apply, no one has ever been eligible for a longer tourist visa than 6 months in a row.

Finally, I don't know about that "3 visas only" deal; I've never heard of your home country bothering about this (some countries might). I think what Alabama may be referring to is by all accounts the Indian government is clamping down on the so-called visa run or back-to-back visas, i.e., hopping across the border to extend one's stay by getting a new visa. So, yes, stories on this getting harder have been steadily trickling in, including possibly having to wait for a bit to be granted a new one. It seems this may currently depend on where you're from or where you apply for a new one, it all seems quite sketchy, and has been looking so for a while.

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Shivani Skydancer

Thank you for your input....

Yes, I'm aware that Us citizens on a 10 year tourist visa still need to leave every 180 days, but what could be simpler than popping over to Nepal for a day and re-entering India without having to renew one's visa... ?

Nepal will only give you a new visa valid for 6 months once, and if you attempt a second time, they will grant a 3 month visa only. After that, one must try another country. This is the information I was given from them.

Australians do not have the option of a 10 year tourist visa. We can only get a 6 month visa. I checked with the Indian embassy in Canberra.

Yes, I realise there are all kinds of trade agreements between countries...

machadinha

Quite, but if we're not getting any... we just won't be getting any.

With current goings-on I'm not even sure how secure those US 10-year visas are for back-to-back purposes really, but all I have to go on like you is reports here and through some other channels. Again, for the time being it seems sketchy at best.

The good news is, or may be, that if it were a complete disaster by now, you'd expect a lot more reports to that effect. So I don't know, take your chances, that was basically always the message anyway. Being allowed to re-enter was technically never guaranteed. Remember a visa is always granted, it's not a right as such.

Nick-H

Quite. My hunch is that they will eventually decide your period of stay when you arrive at the airport, regardless of your visa validity. Imagine arriving for a six month stay and being told you can only stay two weeks ! I've seen an Indian couple arriving at Heathrow and being told they can only stay two months.

I don't know why India is hardening up so much; it is not as if they have a big problem with illegal immigration from the west. But, for whatever reason, they certainly are doing.