Moving to Goa with young children

Jock&Dawn

My husband and I are looking to move to Goa next year with a 3 and 4 year old.

Any information on schooling and regarding children in general would be great. Also any advice on buying/renting property, medical care, visa requirements etc.

We would especially like to hear any personal experiences (good or bad!) from expats who have already made the move.

Shaktipalooza

Hello,

Welcome to IndiaMike!

We've been planning a move to India for what seems like forever. Looks like it will be finally happening in the next few months. We've decided Goa will be the place to relocate with our infant son.

If you do a search on IM you'll find loads of information about moving/buying/renting, etc. Not all of it is encouraging but it's good to be forwarned.

Are you of Indian descent? If so that would go a long way in making the legalities less overwhelming.

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GoanCanuck

1) Buying/renting property

You can't buy property on a tourist visa but you can rent. Typical rental agreements/contracts are for 11 months only and they can be renewed. There are some good quality apartments/bungalows available for rent in Panjim and you can either hire a property broker to show you some houses or do it on your own

2) Medical care

The level of medical care in Goa is reasonably good although not outstanding. There are plenty of specialists in Panjim and Margao and the Apollo Victor hospital in Margao has fairly decent facilities.
http://www.apollovictorhospital.com/

3) Visa

You can't stay long term in Goa on a tourist visa. Tourist visas allow you to stay in Goa only for 180 days maximum. At the end of this period one has to leave India and get a fresh visa.

The only way you can stay in Goa on an extended basis is by having a business visa. To have a business visa you should have a functioning business in the UK and you need to start a business in Goa. The business you start in Goa has to be able to provide employment to the locals and you have to pay the appropriate taxes on a regular basis. Audited financial statements of your business have to be prepared and submitted as and when required by the authorities.

If you have a business visa, you can then buy property but the property has to be directly related/connected to your business.

crvlvr

Location, Location, Location..

Goa is not a city, it is a state that is approx 50km by 80km. The roads are not great and the numerous rivers make for some roundabout driving to get to bridges that will take you across. So if, amenities like health care are important to you, make sure you are located within its proximity.

machadinha

But... there's the visa run isn't there? Or am I opening the proverbial can of worms again.

Not sure how cool that'd be with kids and job obligations etc. however, there's always the chance of not getting back in.

(And agreeing with crvlvr, nothing against OP but these generic Goa/Kerala requests get a little tedious sometimes don't they. Wonder why you get less of that with other states.)

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GoanCanuck

Maybe because Goa and Kerala are the only states which have direct charters from the UK.

dzibead

Speaking of "the visa run," the website for the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu says this: "Repeated applications for tourist visas will not be entertained."

machadinha

There was a warning here some time ago, may have been a year ago even, that Kathmandu was getting tricky re: visas. I haven't followed it for a bit & it now seems everyone's happily chatting away about sure go to Kathmandu or Colombo or wherever, it's just a shame they never call back in to say how they fared.

(Similar to "hey I got a buckload of money and now I want to do all of India in a week" perhaps. Fine by me, but after our good advice do these people ever let us know whether or not it is possible or pleasurable & so we can save our undue worries in the future? No sir/ma'am. If you're in any luck they just get bitchy about spoiling their fantastic plans, and what do we know anyway right.)

Again, OP it's nothing against you, all valid questions & I sincerely hope you find your answers. As noted, there's tons of info here already if you do a search. Maybe I'm getting the blues with this renewed surge in pre-winter holidays inane questions lately. But in short, indeed, asking about "hotels in Kerala" is like asking me about hotels in Holland. What do I know, yes some get booked full, some don't. It's a big place and there are many budgets.

But in short, it'd be more than a little nice to have the lowdown on the visa run I suppose. Not that I care, but to accommodate prospective and current info seekers.

Nick-H

... but they seem to be usually granted

... It would be pretty dodgy to rely on that in the future

Setting up home in a country that does not welcome immigration by westerners is, at best, an insecure option, and the Goan state government seems intent on making it more and more difficult.

This is a very frequently asked question: please read your way through this thread and then this thread to get the backround, discussion, links to news articles and reports of the current state of affairs on property.

Then there's This thread on renting appartments

I've made all those threads sticky so they will always appear at the top of the Goa forum.

Oh... Welcome to IndiaMike!

goangoangone

Why are you coming to Goa?

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grizzlyofalaska

Hi,

Hope someone can help me. I am looking for a place to hide in Goa for about 15 days. I am looking for something perticular so its a problem for me to find it but following is what i am looking for:

1) Like Himachal has BhagsuDharamkot, Uttaranchal has Rishikesh; where do all the westerners hang out in Goa. The reason ask is because i like to stay in an area where i can meet fellow travelers.
2) I would like to spend my time at a place which will have Yoga and most importantly a gym. I have checked out some gyms in India and most of the are no more then a Multi gym machine and a small broken treadmill. Does anyone know a decent gym in any of the cities or beaches of Goa?

Please help me as i need to arrange this urgent.

thanks
Grizzly

cyberhippie

Basically the OP is a long way short on research if they think they can just relocate to Goa with a couple fo kids and live happily ever after. Like anywhere else there are conditions you have to satisfy before moving permenantly to another country in This India (goa) is no different!!

Been like this for a long time DZI but it's good you pointed it out, so people realise that Indian embassies are perfectly entitled to refuse any visa and multiple back to back visas are as good a reason as any to refuse a new visa!!