Foreign owned property in Goa, (part Two)

wat2do

Hi ! Well I have a 5year x visa have been living in india 4 past 4years only goin back 4 short trips. I think I qualefie as a resident, But still carnt find anyone 2 answer the visa Q can I buy a property on this 5year x visa...??? tanks

Nick-H

That depends not so much on visa but on satisfying the RBI requirements.

Of course, as intention is ionvolved, they might consider your visa type.

Whist it looks as if you quite possibly have satisfied those requirements, you have to consider what happens when your visa comes up for renewal. On what basis did you get an X visa? Does that basis still hold true? (if you don't mind me asking, of course...)

Oh, and Welcome to IndiaMike.com

goangoangone

I haven't yet heard of anybody getting more than 180 day visas, so unless you have special circumstances, I doubt you'll get another 5 year x. The authorities are not considering any foreigner property registrations at the moment.

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GoanGoan......here

wat2do

Yes Good advice Sir!!! I will get another 5 year x ( Imm shalla) I am tryin to work out if they are just impimenting the Law ??? or want 2 take house posesions regardless... Unfortunatly I will find out very soon!!! will post resalt....

dzibead

But if wat2do is a PIO and was given a 5-year entry visa on that basis, he should be able to get another one. It's only the garden-variety non-PIO foreign nationals who are no longer being given x visas - since many (all?) of them who previously were given x visas (I think mostly in London) were issued them by mistake due to a misunderstanding on the part of consular staff in London.

a_f_d

If he is a PIO he can get a 15 year PIO card, and has no need to be resident to buy property anyway.

Nick-H

(my bold) Dzibead... we've disagreed on this before, but do you have any evidence for it? Other than the fact that published visa descriptions may not have actually said, we also give this visa type to those we recognise as having a valid reason for being issued with a long-term visa but who don't fit in any other category --- ?

If you do, I could revise my understanding and stop arguing about it

dzibead

True, but getting a PIO card is much more expensive than getting an entry visa and is a more elaborate process. A lot of PIOs don't necessarily feel that they need the 15-year card, depending on what they want to do in India, how long they intend to stay, etc., but if he's thinking of buying property it might be worth it. Certainly something to look into, if he is a PIO.

dzibead

Yes, I have evidence of this. A couple of people who had x visas (and I'm referring to the 5-year entry visa) and tried to renew have said (I think even in posts on this site) that they were explicitly told by consular personnel in London that these previous visas had been issued by mistake, based on the applicant having shown the consular person that they had "purchased" property in India (specifically Goa in every instance I'm aware of) and were "residents" there. This isn't just a matter of the visa description not explicitly saying "we also give this visa type to those we recognise as having a valid reason for being issued with a long-term visa but who don't fit in any other category". It's a matter of the visa description specifically saying that it's given only to PIOs. I see no basis for assuming that the 5-year entry visa is a catch-all that's also given to non-PIOs "who don't fit in any other category," which seems to be your interpretation. What evidence do you have that that's the case, particularly in light of the fact that non-PIOs trying to renew or get another entry visa have been told that they don't qualify for one, that their earlier visas were issued in error, and that they actually qualify only for a regular tourist visa? I don't think there is a "catch-all" visa that's given to people who "don't fit into any other category". You either fit into one of the visa categories or you don't get a visa, as far as I can see.

goangoangone

I have a friend who has been here 12 years. He is on his 2nd 5 year visa which doesn't expire for another 3 years. The latest one was issued by post from London. He told them he had a medical condition and couldn't travel. So you see, you will hear all sorts of different stories.

Nick-H

Thanks for that.

My feeling is that the Law of Indian Bureaucrats applies here. ie. It is whatever any particular official at any particular time thinks it is. Which makes it a very slippery animal.

We do know that there is one documented situation in which an X-visa is issued to non-pio --- spouse of visitor on employment visa, Department of Immigration website. (apart from marriage, of course, although that, in some contexts only, seems to create a sort of honorary pio-ness)

Entirely academic, of course, what happened in the past --- other than the fact that you and I both take some pleasure in getting this background stuff straight. On this basis only, if you hear anything more I'd be interested.

What we know to be true is that, whatever the past situation, things have hardened up considerably. And that is what matters for people today of course.

dzibead

Sounds like he got it two years ago, which was before they "woke up" in London.

Ah, yes. The Law of Indian Bureaucrats is the Ultimate Authority, regardless of what the statutes or regulations say!

Oh, that's right. But it's sort of an adjunct to the the spouse's employment visa that's only valid as as long as the spouse has the employment visa. And I bet if the spouses divorced, the "adjunct" visa would no longer be valid, so it's not really a "stand alone" visa. Hm-m. It would be interesting to hear of what has happened to someone in that situation.
Doesn't the Citizenship Act of 1987 (?) include as one of the definitions of PIO the spouse of a citizen? I vaguely remember that. I'll have to look it up.

We should open a visa and immigration consultancy firm. Our advice couldn't possibly be worse than some of the stuff I've heard.

Yes, and it's not looking bright for people looking for a way to stay long-term without an actual job in India.

goangoangone

One of the criteria to qualify for Resident status was that you didn't have a job in your home country, thereby denoting intention to stay for an unspecified period.

just to add, if you have a job then you're on a business visa. They only want short stay tourists.

GoanCanuck

If that is the case why is the FRO Panjim telling British retirees to retire in their own country? One would have thought that since a retired person has no job in his country of origin, he has the intention to stay in India for an unspecified period.

dzibead

If you have an actual job in India, you get an employment visa. A business visa is different, and it's also usually short term (3 to 6 months), with up to 2 years possible in some limited circumstances.