OCI Card or Indian tourist visa – what is better? Which one is easier to obtain, OCI card or Indian visa, for foreign-born minors of Indian origin? What are the advantages of an OCI card and the disadvantages of an Indian tourist visa? What will help me with hassle-free multiple entries to India, a 5/10-year-old Indian visa or a life-long OCI card? Indian Diaspora hits Google, Facebook, and visa-related forums with such queries before the time is ripe to search online for best deals for flights to India from USA.

Both OCI Card and Indian tourist visa have their own pros and cons. If you don’t have either one, you can obtain a tourist visa faster than an OCI card for emergency travel to India. However, OCI cardholders were allowed to enter India, whereas the tourist visa (both electronic and paper) was banned and tourist visa holders were restricted from traveling to India during the pandemic. Inarguably, the OCI Card is given preference to the tourist visa in the event of international travel restrictions.

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In the phase 7 of Vande Bharat Mission, the Government of India lifted restrictions for the entry/arrival of OCI cardholders and foreign nationals of Indian origin with a valid visa. Though several visa types for travel to India, which were earlier suspended in view of the Coronavirus pandemic, have been restored, tourist visa, e-visa (visa on arrival) and medical visa continue to remain restricted.

Foreign citizens of Indian origin are still scouring the Internet for information about visa restrictions on travel to India from USA and other countries. ‘Can I travel to India on air bubble flights?’ is the most common query having surfaced in online travel groups. If you are an Indian-origin foreign national holding a valid visa to India (other than tourist, medical and e-visa), you need not get the existing visa revalidated by the Embassy or Consulate.

If you hold a regular Entry (X) Visa (in paper, not in electronic format), you can use the existing visa to enter India in the current circumstances. You need not apply for an emergency visa to India.

However, in case of family emergencies including critical medical condition or death in the family, an emergency visa to India will facilitate travel for those having neither an OCI card nor a regular entry visa (paper). If you are among those residing within the jurisdiction of any of the Indian Consulates or the Indian Embassy in Washington DC, you need to apply for an emergency entry visa (paper) on Indianvisaonline.gov.in.

You are required to fill out the application with requisite details, upload a photo, and submit the application. Thereafter, take a printout of the application and duly sign it. The next step requires you to email certain documents along with a copy of the signed visa application to asovisa.washington@mea.gov.in and visa1.washington@mea.gov.in if you reside within the consular jurisdiction of the Indian Embassy, DC.

At the same time, you need to print out a copy of the Additional Particulars Form and fill it out. The details you are required to furnish on this form include your nationality, passport number, name of spouse, his/her nationality, current employment status, employer details, criminal history (if there is any), etc.

• A copy of the Renunciation certificate or the cancelled Indian Passport ascertaining that foreign nationality has been obtained.
• A copy of the current passport and the existing visa to India (if any)
• A copy of valid address proof in the country of foreign citizenship
• A copy of the marriage certificate (if applicable)
• A copy of the birth certificate of the child (if applicable)
• A copy of eligibility proof for emergency visa: A signed letter from the doctor or hospital ascertaining an emergency medical condition or death in the immediate family in India
• A copy of the filled Additional Particulars Form (mentioned above)

If you have not yet obtained the renunciation certificate, you need to apply to VFS Global Services for it and pay a certain fee. Please attach a copy of the fee receipt along with your entry visa application. Please visit Visa.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ind for the renunciation certificate application procedure.

If the applicant for a regular entry visa to India on account of family emergencies is a minor (under 18 years) and his/her parents are Indian citizens, copies of the parents’ Indian passports should also be sent to the above-mentioned email addresses to the Indian Embassy, Washington DC. In addition, a copy of the Notarized Parental authorization form with signature of the parents of the minor applicant is a mandatory requirement. If you are married to an Indian citizen, you need to email a PDF copy of your spouse’s Indian Passport.

On receiving approval to the application for an entry visa to India for emergencies, you need to visit the Embassy and make sure to carry your original passport, two photographs, and the visa fee. No need to visit the Embassy unless the application is approved. You can write your queries to asovisa.washington@mea.gov.in and visa1.washington@mea.gov.in if there is any.

If you reside in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virgin Islands, please send your application along with the documents to cons.atlanta@mea.gov.in. Tel: 404-910-7919 and 404-924-9876.

If you reside in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, please send your application along with the documents to visa.chicago@mea.gov.in. Tel: 312-687-3642 and 312-468- 3276

If you reside in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska, please send your application along with the documents to enquiriescgi@swbell.net. Tel: 713-626-2149

If you reside in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont, please send your application along with the documents to visa.newyork@mea.gov.in. Tel: 212-774-0607/347-721-9243

If you reside in Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, please send your application along with the documents to oci2.sf@mea.gov.in. Tel: 415 483 6629

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To woo a greater number of foreign tourists and business visitors, the government of India has considered plans to extend the validity of e-visa for tourists and business travellers from 2 months with double entry to 12 months with multiple entries. Several plans for further liberalization of e-visa to India have been taken into consideration in view of the increasing popularity of Indian e-visas among foreigners and foreign nationals of Indian origin.

In the last week of August 2019 was held a national-level tourism conference in New Delhi, where India’s tourism minister Prahlad Singh announced to introduce a 5-year e-tourist visa, with several relaxations in the policy, for a minimal fee of $80. The five-year e-tourist visa is intended to make cheap travel to India from USA and other countries eligible for visa on arrival, reality during the off-season (April-July).

A one-month e-visa to India for foreign tourists and India-origin foreign nationals is also under consideration. It would come for a fee of $25 per person throughout the year except the off-tourism season when the one-month e-tourist visa fee would be reduced to $10. Initially, the nationals of the US, the UK, Singapore, Japan, Russia, Ukraine, Mozambique and Sri Lanka will be able to avail the one-month e-visa to India at the reduced fee during the off season.

Earlier, a visit to India cost foreign tourists more than US$ 1500 for two, including the high fee for e-tourist visa to India, for a 14-day trip. The latest revision of the Indian e-tourist visa fees reduced by as much as $75 is expected to double the number of foreign tourist arrivals to India in the next three years. It will literally make cheap travel to India a trending phenomenon.

Apart from a five-year e-tourist visa for USD 80, India is all set to introduce a one-year e-visa for US$40. While the Home Ministry of India has already given its nod to the revision of the Indian e-tourist visa policy, the Ministry of External Affairs is yet to give its approval.

The revised e-tourist visa program permits continuous stay for 90 days during each entry to India. But, the nationals of Japan, Canada, the UK and US are allowed a maximum of 180-day continuous stay per visit to India. Travellers on e-business visa to India are eligible for maximum 180 days of continuous stay during each visit from the countries which are within the ambit of India’s e-visa policy.

The statistics from India’s tourism ministry website depicts a growth of 41.5% from 14, 56,615 foreign tourist arrivals in the January-November 2017 to 20, 61,511 foreign visitors during the same period in 2018.

Brought to you by IndianEagle.com, this article is part of the continued series of news about travel to and from India. Travel Beats, an overseas Indian community portal, is a subsidiary of Indian Eagle, a most trusted air-ticketing portal for guaranteed cheap flights to India, low cancellation charges, 24-hr customer support and assistance on itinerary selection.  

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Good news for foreign tourists to India! Indian e-visa for foreign tourists is more flexible and liberal than before. The enhanced flexibility of Indian e-visa is intended to fetch more foreign tourist arrivals to India. The government announced to liberalize e-visa to India for foreign visitors by increasing the validity period from 30 days to 4 months. It will come into effect soon in April 2017.

The new policy of Indian e-visa for foreign nationals will allow foreign visitors to stay in India up to 2 months from one month. Foreigners are eligible for the increased duration of stay in certain categories of e-visa to India. Effective from April 1, the three new sub-categories of Indian e-visa are e-tourist visa, e-business visa, and e-medical visa.

Moreover, the citizens of the countries including USA, UK, UAE and Australia, which are eligible for Indian e-visa, can seek to visit India under two new categories: Intern (I) and Film (F). The Intern e-visa to India will be granted to those looking to pursue internship programs in non-government organizations. Those looking to shoot films in India can apply for the Film e-visa to India.

India’s Intern e-visa came into effect on March 1. 2017. Its approval requires applicants to comply with certain terms and conditions. The Film e-visa to India comes with maximum one-year validity and permits multiple entries during this period.

The new policy of Indian e-visa for foreign visitors makes approval of business and medical e-visas mandatory within 48 hours of application in emergency cases. Applicants from 161 foreign countries will receive an email authorizing them to visit India upon approval of their applications for medical or business e-visa to India. They must carry a printout of the authorization email and present it to immigrant authorities upon arrival in India.

Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports have got dedicated immigration counters and help desks to assist foreigners on medical e-visa to India. India will soon introduce multiple-entry e-visa for tourism and business with a five-year validity period. It will be available to the citizens of most of 161 countries.

The Indian e-visa facility has been extended to 24 airports from 16 airports for entry to India. Recently Pune Airport (PNQ) has been put on the India e-visa list. The facility is also available at three Indian ports including Goa, Mangalore and Cochin in order to promote cruise tourism, according to the new policy of Indian e-visa. Chennai and Mumbai seaports will also start providing the Indian e-visa service shortly.

Also Check New Indian Visa Fees for US Citizens

The new policy of Indian e-visa is a more liberal and flexible approach towards increasing the number of foreign tourist arrivals to India. About 8.89 million foreigners visited India in 2016, while India received 8.27 million foreign tourists in 2015.

Indian Eagle, one of the best Indian travel websites, issues cheap flight tickets for India from United States, and publishes the latest news about Indian visa and tourism on its digital magazine, Travel Beats.

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Enough of USA visa and immigration updates, which have been making social media feeds and news headlines since the US elections 2016! Now we got something important to share about the visas to India for US citizens. The Indian Embassy in Washington DC publicized the new visa fees for US citizens, following the latest update on revision of visa fees by the Government of India. The revised fees for visas to India will be applicable from April 1, 2017.

Image Credit: Universalweather.com/blog

From April 1, 2017, US citizens will have to shell out more for 14 different visas to India, including Tourist Visa (T), Student Visa (S), Entry Visa (X), Medical Visa (MED), Business Visa (B), Transit Visa, Employment and Project Visa (P), Journalist Visa (J), Missionary Visa (M), Intern Visa (I), Conference/Seminar Visa (C), Film Visa (F), Medical Attendant Visas (ME X), and Mountaineering Visa (MX).

India’s Tourist Visa Fees for US Citizens  

The tourist visa to India with validity for up to 10 years will cost $100 to US citizens.

India’s Business Visa Fees for US Citizens

They will have to pay $160 for a single-entry business visa to India for a period of 12 months, and $270 for a multiple-entry business visa to India with validity up to 10 years.

India’s Entry Visa Fees for US Citizens

$100 is the new fee for entry visa to India valid for six months, while a multiple entry visa to India for 6 months to 1 year will cost $140 now onwards. The multiple-entry visa to India will cost $220 for 1 to 5-year validity.

India’s Employment & Project Visa Fees

The revised fee for India’s employment and project visa for US citizens is $100 for up to six months. The same visa with multiple entry and for 6 months to 1 year will cost $220 from April 1, 2017. The same multiple-entry visa to India for employment and project will come for $320 if validity is up to five years and not less than 1 year.

India’s Medical Visa Fees for US Citizens

The new fee for medical visa to India, single or multiple entry, is $100 for US citizens. The medical visa to India will cost $140 in case of validity from 6 months to 1 year. The same are the revised fees for medical attendant visas to India for US citizens.

India’s Student Visa Fees for US Citizens

$100 is the revised fee for student visas to India for US citizens if the validity is up to 5 years or as long as the duration of an academic course.

The revised fees will be applicable to visa applications received by the Embassy of India on or before April 1, 2017, though the applications were filed before that particular date. The embassy would collect an additional amount from the applicants based on the latest revision of fees for visas to India. Apart from this, the applications whose approval is pending due to additional documentation or investigation will be charged the new fee as per the revision. Check the complete list of revised Indian visa fees for US citizens here.

Travel Beats is a leading community portal by Indian Eagle, a trusted travel partner of Indians in USA. Travel Beats publishes the latest visa, air travel, immigration and Indian community news.

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Finally, Indians in USA have got a window to vent their complaints with regard to visa and passport issues. To the benefit of the Indian community in America, the Indian Embassy in Washington DC and its five consulates across the United States will be holding open houses to address their issues with and concerns about visa and passport. The grievances related to the Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card will also be addressed in an open house every fortnight from January 2016 onwards.

Navtej Sarna, the Indian Ambassador to the US, announced this initiative at a reception in Washington DC yesterday. The reception was held in his honor by topnotch Indian American leaders from the Greater Washington DC Area. Hundreds of Indian Americans from the Washington Metropolitan Area, including the US capital, Maryland and Virginia were in attendance. He said in no uncertain terms that those having grievances or issues related to passports, visa and OCI cards would be able to approach the senior embassy officials in the Open House.

The schedule of an open house every fortnight would be up on the website of the Indian Embassy and consulates in Chicago, Atlanta, New York, San Francisco and Houston. The open house will enable many to discuss particular problems in connection with or get a response to their application for a new visa or passport or renewal. Even those having no paper for OCI cards will be able to find a solution in discussion with the senior officers and the nodal officers during open house sessions at the Indian Embassy and Consulates in US.

Navtej Sarna admitted that visa, passport and OCI card are immensely important for the Indians in USA and Indian Diaspora in general. He added that the best efforts have put in to improve the system and streamline the process but the problem has not been removed from the root. The technology is efficient and the process is carefully monitored, but the problem persists despite the best practices in place, according to him.

“Since the the US passports are undergoing changes for enhanced security and the electronic visa is a new system, minor problems persist. In a couple of years, the things will be a lot better to your absolute convenience,” he said.

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Good news for the nationals of 113 countries, who are eligible for e-tourist visa to India! Indian government has decided to cut fees for e-tourist visa to India for those countries. This initiative to increase foreign tourist arrivals to India will be taken under the Electronic Tourist Visa scheme, a digitized version of visa on arrival India.

Currently, $60 is the fee for e-tourist visa for India, which is higher than the fee for visa of other countries. Indians pay a lower fee ranging from $20 to $40 for similar e-tourist visa to other countries. The tourism ministries of those countries have requested the government of India to reduce the visa fee for their nationals.

In response to the request from other countries, the External Affairs Ministry of India has mandated the Home Ministry to check the possibility of reducing the e-tourist visa fees for foreign nationals. Though the Home Ministry has not yet made an official announcement, the e-visa fee structure is reported to be rationalized soon.

It is reported that the fee for tourist visa to India will be categorized into four slabs between $0 and $40 on a reciprocal basis. As per the e-tourist visa policy of India, the nationals of any of 113 countries receive an email authorizing them to travel to India once their visa application for India is approved.

They can travel to India with a printout of the authorization and need to present the same to the immigration officials on arrival at major Indian airports. E-tourist visa for India is currently available to the citizens of 113 countries including the USA, the UK, the UAE, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Thailand, Sweden, Singapore, China, Oman, Russia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, Ireland, Malaysia and others.

The ‘visa on arrival India’ scheme will be available to 180 countries by March 31, 2016. Foreign tourists with the approved visa application for India will get entry to the country from 16 international airports including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Goa, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Gaya and Tiruchirapalli.

Eligibility for Tourist Visa on Arrival India

• You must be a citizen of any of the countries which India offers the ‘visa on arrival’ facility to.
• You should travel to India only for recreation, sightseeing, short-term medical treatment, short-term business trip, or casual visit to relatives or friends in India.
• Your passport must be valid at least for 6 months from the date of arrival in India. It should have two blank pages for stamping by the immigration officer.
• You should have a return ticket and adequate money to bear your expenses in India.
• If you are a diplomat or official passport holder or international travel document holder, you are not eligible for India’s visa on arrival facility.

Things to Know about Tourist Visa on Arrival India   

E-tourist visa to India is valid for 30 days. Neither the validity can be extended nor can the visa be converted into any other type of visa during your stay in India. Your application for visa extension may be considered under certain exceptional circumstances.

You may apply online for e-tourist visa to India 4 days before your date of arrival in India. The fee for visa on arrival once deposited cannot be refunded. You should deposit the fee within 4 days prior to your date of travel.

You should carry a printout of the Electronic Travel Authorization while traveling to India. Your biometric details will be captured by immigration officers on arrival at the designated airports of India. As of now, e-tourist visa to India is allowed for only two visits in a calendar year.

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