Volunteer Visas. . . just got mine!

Hi all,

I just got my visa to do volunteer work in India for a while, and I remember searching around this forum and not being able to find clear info on it before.

So here's what I had to do, for anyone American folks who come looking later.

I went through the NYC Travisa office, being a Boston Yankee. There is no "Volunteer Visa" per se, but you aren't supposed to do volunteer work on a tourist visa. Instead you have to apply for an *Entry* Visa.

If you aren't of Indian origin, you can only apply for the 6 month Entry Visa, and then you have to leave and apply for another one, just like the Tourist Visas. So come October I'll be taking a little boat to Sri Lanka.

Anyway, here's what you need to send in:

-completed and SIGNED application
-two passport photos
-passport
-copy of your license or state ID (to establish that you live in the jurisdiction of the right Travisa office--they have several around the USA). You could also send a bill or other proof of address if you're squeamish, but seeing as all your personal info is on the application anyway. . .
-money order for the consulate and shipping fees ($134 total in my case). They accept credit cards but it takes longer to process. Checks are a no-no.
-two short and sweet letters:

*The first should be from the organization you're volunteering for, on company letterhead with their business/NGO/government registration number somewhere on it. They need to specifically request a six month visa for you, and state that your work will be unpaid (I'm working for room and board, which is okay so long as no monetary income is involved).

*The second should be from you, sort of as a cover sheet for the whole application. You should announce your intention to do unpaid volunteer work with the specific company, and specifically request a six month visa in your letter.


That's what I sent out, then it went through the magically bureaucracy machine, and voila! I now have a visa to work six days a week for a bed and a few plates of saag.

So yeah, sorry if this is redundant, but I figured I'd save someone else the five phone calls it took me to get all this. Good luck!

That is great info, especially for the US volunteers.

I suspect you may be one of the few "legal" volunteers there!

Where are you going to volunteer?

Have a good one....

Thanks! Just hoping to be useful.

I'll be teaching English and computer skills (and maybe some basic carpentry) to migrant kids at a rural school near Madanapalle, about 100km outside of Bangalore. I should be arriving in early June (just in time for the heat, I hear).

Never been to India before, but I'm trying to be confident in my ability to deal with culture shock, lack of personal space, and "exotic" digestive issues.

Sounds like a worthy endeavour!

By the way, lots of people have problems finding a volunteer position. How did you find yours?

I think it's excellent that you did it the right way but I'm still not sure why you couldn't get the fabulous 10 year tourist visa and do the same volunteer job? (you still have to leave after 180 days but you don't need a new visa when you return).

Was it the place you are going that required that type of Visa?

You are now in the unfortunate position of having to leave to get a new visa in 6 months. I don't know if you will be able to get the same type of "volunteer" visa. You may wind up with a regular 3 month tourist visa from Sri Lanka.

In any case, have a wonderful experience. You will be doing very helpful things that will be much appreciated. Where are these children migrants from within India?

There is something ironic about an person from the US teaching computer skills in India! Especially close to their IT capital Bangalore!

I really just did a lot lot lot of digging and finally found a place. I'm hesitant to name names in a public forum, since I don't have permission to and don't want to tick off my new bosses before I even get to the country.

But a lot of google searching got me there, with "no fee volunteering abroad" being the eventual winner.

I'm not really sure why you can't get an entry visa for more than 6 months, and as soon as I get settled I'm going to start looking into either getting extensions or the process I need to go through to come back.

And promise to report my findings to IM.

My useless conjecture would be that India has had a history of issues with Western volunteers who are there to evangelize and "have an experience" than to get their hands dirty. So my guess is they want to make sure you have a mission and an organization to keep you in line--having fairly strict time limits makes that easier.

But that's just a guess, it could be totally unrelated.

Good lead, Robsolete! Just checked out the VFS UK site: Entry Visa Docs

relevant bit here:

9) Entry:

a. Passport valid for a minimum of 190 days with at least two blank pages.
b. Correct visa fee.
c. Two recent identical passport-size photographs.
d. Filled application form (all columns in the form are mandatory and must be filled).
e. Proof of Indian origin OR
Parents' Indian passport (copies should be attested) OR
Marriage certificate (copies should be attested) OR
Invitation/admission letter for short-term courses like yoga, mountaineering,
spiritual courses etc OR
Invitation letter for voluntary workers from an organisation based in India.

I hadn't spotted this before but it looks to be perfect for me. I'm volunteering and have been worrying about getting a back-to-back Tourist visa when my current 12-month visa expires in October. An Entry Visa is not too costly either

The 180-day restriction is not really a hardship - it's always good to see family and friends back home. What I found difficult was leaving them again. Financially, just factor flights and expensive (cf India) expenses into your budget. Environmentally, ...

What you'll be doing is pretty much what I've been doing for the last 6 months or so at an NGO in Kerala. Some of my kids are migrant too, coming with their trader families from Karnataka for the tourist season.

Clive

I'm always interested in all the complications of Visas, for some bizarre reason Maybe because I've heard so many, many stories about getting/not getting them!

As most of you probably know, the requirements & visa types are different depending on your country's passport & whether you get the visa at home or abroad.

I decided to have another look at the US visa processing website, and sure enough, there is absolutely nothing about getting the volunteer visa that robsolete got. But what's really curious, there is also nothing that would suggest that the "entry" visa will do the trick. On the website it is ONLY for people of Indian origin

I have no doubt that robsolete's visa will work, since that's another typical India bureaucratic idiocyncracy.

But, now I'm convinced that a 10 yr. tourist visa would have been the better choice for a volunteering position--UNLESS the place would not let you volunteer with a tourist visa. Then, you had to do it the way you did.

The visa application websites are notorious for not telling the whole story, though they are often quite helpful for "ordinary" tourist visas. The UK VFS website also makes no mention of this, but our resident "mole" who works at VFS in teh UK tells us that volunteers also need to apply for this visa.

I'm convinced that a 10 yr. tourist visa would have been the better choice for a volunteering position.[/quote]Me too, US citizens are the only people in the world who can get a 10 year Indian visa, as an "ordinary" Brit the longest I have ever got is one year and it's usually a maximum of six months. I can't imagine why any US citizen who loves India doesn't grab a 10 year visa while they can!

Unless of course, as you say, that it was a condition of the voluntary work that they have an entry visa.

Robsolete, despite this, don't think your information isn't appreciated, it's incredibly helpful when members post back about their experiences. On the plus side, you get to leave India and explore somewhere else while you're waiting for your new visa, and if you get fed up with doing it, or can only get a three months tourist visa, you get to go home for a visit!

Mhmm, I did consider all that, but when I asked the NGO about it, they didn't specifically tell me what to do, but they said that they would prefer I go by the book at the consulate. So that's what I did.

It's my first India trip, so I don't mind not getting the 10 year. Who knows, maybe I'll hate it. If I fall in love I'll put in for it. And if in October I can't get another visa, I already have a quasi-plan to WWOOF my way across Nepal and China on the way home, so I'm not too worried either way.

Although I don't know how much farming gets done in Nepal in December. . .

Good point, it is quite a bit more expensive. I think what I really don't get is US citizens who are spending huge amounts of time in India, and who could have easily got 10 year visas, yet who complain about having to keep leaving India every six months to get yet another six month visa.

Very good news and a valuable post as well, kudos.
Now to archive it at my end..

Well the way I think about it is if you think your going to go back to India again in the next 10 years go for the 10 year visa. at 184 Dollars total it is cheaper than getting two 6month visas. My experience has been that the consulate doesn't bat an eyelash at giving them out either.

1) a few non-PIO people from the UK have got longer than 6 month 'X' visas.
2) I have never keard of anyone getting an 'X' anywhere except their country of origin.
3) 'fraid there haven't been boats to Sri Lanka for years (I keep looking).
4) I agree with everyone else - you should have gone for the wonderful US-only 10 year visa - in fact if you've got time still do it!!!!!

AndyD 8-(#

You've got the Entry Visa & you've got a wonderful attitude to go along with it

Just focus on having an excellent experience as a volunteer. You will surely meet others like yourself and who knows if you might find someone to join you for a bit of a "vacation" in Nepal, if that's what you decide to do. Your plans will evolve.

I can recommend seeing Nepal. I think you will find it very interesting and so different from India. You could easily spend a week just in the Kathmandu valley visiting the nearby towns (by short bus rides).

Too bad Sri Lanka doesn't have a ferry boat connecting it to India. It's that darn civil war that's been going on for 25+ years that's probably screwed up that idea. It's soooo close yet you still have to fly from India.

Anyway, if you do go there for a visa, there's lots of info here on IndiaMike about people's recent Visa experiences in Colombo. You could plan on a week or two of sightseeing there also. Up to the mountains in Kandy & down to Hikkadua's beaches.

Once you are in South Asia, you may as well stay as long as you can. You are arriving during the hot & unpleasant weather season & getting ready to leave just when it starts to get nice! Try to stay beyond October! Nov., Dec. & Jan. are the BEST months in most of South Asia.