visa stay beyond 6 months

omnii · Oct 17th, 2009, 13:56

i'm an american citizen with a 6 month tourist visa.
however, i want to stay in Goa longer. I was thinking of taking a train
to a border country like Nepal or flying to Sri Lanka whichever is cheaper.
and then restamping my visa for another 6 months.

Is this possible? Is this expensive?

paintedlotus · Oct 17th, 2009, 14:35

Wherever you end up going, you'll need to head to the Indian embassy and apply for a new visa. Your current tourist visa is good for exactly 6 months from the date it's issued (not date of arrival in the country). Once you've hit the expiration date printed on the visa you need to get out of India. Check the date your visa expires and make travel plans to get out of the country on or preferably before that date or you'll face a major paperwork nightmare.

dusterio · Oct 17th, 2009, 15:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by omnii

i'm an american citizen with a 6 month tourist visa.
however, i want to stay in Goa longer. I was thinking of taking a train
to a border country like Nepal or flying to Sri Lanka whichever is cheaper.
and then restamping my visa for another 6 months.

Is this possible? Is this expensive?

It is possible - thousands of "tourists" do this. However, I would advice you to contact an Indian mission in advance and ask them whether it's fine - because recently the visa issue rules have been tightened.

Call 3-4 Consulates from different countries - like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, etc.

omnii · Oct 17th, 2009, 16:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by paintedlotus

Wherever you end up going, you'll need to head to the Indian embassy and apply for a new visa. Your current tourist visa is good for exactly 6 months from the date it's issued (not date of arrival in the country). Once you've hit the expiration date printed on the visa you need to get out of India. Check the date your visa expires and make travel plans to get out of the country on or preferably before that date or you'll face a major paperwork nightmare.

i'm sorry... i hold a 10 year tourist visa good for multiple entries of 6 months each
so i don't need to get a new visa - just get a new 6 month stamp on my visa.

nycank · Oct 17th, 2009, 18:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by omnii

i'm sorry... i hold a 10 year tourist visa good for multiple entries of 6 months each
so i don't need to get a new visa - just get a new 6 month stamp on my visa.

Not even that. You go visit a city like KTM,CMB,BKK stay a day or two, and back. No need to visit any consulate.

Nick-H · Oct 17th, 2009, 19:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by omnii

i'm an american citizen with a 6 month tourist visa.

Quote:

Originally Posted by omnii

i'm sorry... i hold a 10 year tourist visa

Confusion, confusion!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dusterio

It is possible - thousands of "tourists" do this. However, I would advice you to contact an Indian mission in advance and ask them whether it's fine - because recently the visa issue rules have been tightened.

Call 3-4 Consulates from different countries - like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, etc.

No need to do this at all. A multiple-entry ten-year visa is just what it says.

There is only one however...

Whatever visa you hold, your admittance to the country that issued it is, finally, on the hands of the immigration officers that allow you in. Whilst we know that back-to-back tourist visas are being restricted, we have not heard of anyone on a long-term tourist visa being denied entry yet, I don't think.

omnii · Oct 18th, 2009, 13:30

what's the cheapest flight from Goa to a neighboring country? So when my visa expires i can take a cheap flight from like Goa to Bangalore then Bangalore to Sri Lanka - stay a few days and then come back to Goa.

Nick-H · Oct 18th, 2009, 13:42

Quote:

So when my visa expires

You're American?

And you didn't take advantage of the wonderful ten-year visa available to you?

omnii · Oct 18th, 2009, 13:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

You're American?

And you didn't take advantage of the wonderful ten-year visa available to you?

?? I am taking advantage of it now.

omnii · Oct 18th, 2009, 14:02

[quote=Nick-H;839926]You're American?

10 year visa doesn't mean that i can stay in India for 10 years. It means its only is good for multiple entries of 6 months each. While the visa itself is good for 10 years, that means i don't have to keep getting new visas every 6 months.

Nick-H · Oct 18th, 2009, 14:13

Oh yawn...

Yes, I know all that stuff. You're the confused one.

nycank · Oct 18th, 2009, 16:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by omnii

what's the cheapest flight from Goa to a neighboring country? So when my visa expires i can take a cheap flight from like Goa to Bangalore then Bangalore to Sri Lanka - stay a few days and then come back to Goa.

Airfares tend to have seasonal variations. It is cheaper to fly from hub cities in India (BOM,DEL) internationally. In your case, HYD,BOM should be explored for the dates around when you come up for renewal. Do check the standard websites, as well as local newspapers for advertisements by local travel agents.

Haylo · Oct 18th, 2009, 23:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by omnii

i'm an american citizen with a 6 month tourist visa.

No you're not, you're an American citizen with a TEN YEAR VISA.

Quote:

I was thinking of taking a train to a border country like Nepal or flying to Sri Lanka whichever is cheaper. and then restamping my visa for another 6 months.

Stop talking about "restamping" of your visa, that does not happen, you have just made it up!

Your visa is a multiple entry visa, with a 180 day limit on each visit to India.

When you go to a country like Nepal, your visit to India ends.

When you enter India again, your next visit, which also has a maximum length of 180 days, starts.

Quote:

Is this possible? Is this expensive?

See sticky threads on the subject.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

Whilst we know that back-to-back tourist visas are being restricted, we have not heard of anyone on a long-term tourist visa being denied entry yet, I don't think.

I haven't heard of people being denied entry either, though a few members have reported rather touch and go questioning sessions. Frankly, given the clamp down on this, I'm surprised that more people who are using 10 year Tourist Visas to live in India haven't been challenged.

I rather suspect that anyone who has used their previous tourist visa in this way might have trouble getting another one.

capt_mahajan · Oct 19th, 2009, 00:26

Quote:

I'm surprised that more people who are using 10 year Tourist Visas to live in India haven't been challenged.

So am I, and I expect that this will happen sooner rather than later.

dzibead · Oct 20th, 2009, 05:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by capt_mahajan

So am I, and I expect that this will happen sooner rather than later.

Me, too. As soon as it comes to the attention of the authorities that more and more people are essentially abusing what is, after all, a tourist visa, we're going to see crack downs - like we have with all the Brits "buying" property in Goa while holding only tourist visas, or by setting up fake businesses.

Oct 17th, 2009, 13:56	#1
omnii Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: San Jose, California Posts: 23	visa stay beyond 6 months i'm an american citizen with a 6 month tourist visa. however, i want to stay in Goa longer. I was thinking of taking a train to a border country like Nepal or flying to Sri Lanka whichever is cheaper. and then restamping my visa for another 6 months. Is this possible? Is this expensive?

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Oct 17th, 2009, 14:35	#2
paintedlotus Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 58	Wherever you end up going, you'll need to head to the Indian embassy and apply for a new visa. Your current tourist visa is good for exactly 6 months from the date it's issued (not date of arrival in the country). Once you've hit the expiration date printed on the visa you need to get out of India. Check the date your visa expires and make travel plans to get out of the country on or preferably before that date or you'll face a major paperwork nightmare.

Oct 18th, 2009, 13:30	#7
omnii Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: San Jose, California Posts: 23	what's the cheapest flight from Goa to a neighboring country? So when my visa expires i can take a cheap flight from like Goa to Bangalore then Bangalore to Sri Lanka - stay a few days and then come back to Goa.

Oct 18th, 2009, 14:02	#10
omnii Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: San Jose, California Posts: 23	[quote=Nick-H;839926]You're American? 10 year visa doesn't mean that i can stay in India for 10 years. It means its only is good for multiple entries of 6 months each. While the visa itself is good for 10 years, that means i don't have to keep getting new visas every 6 months.

Oct 18th, 2009, 14:13	#11
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 36,187	Oh yawn... Yes, I know all that stuff. You're the confused one.