Jump to content

Indian visas for Aussies


Recommended Posts

Hi everyone, tried asking this on the Asia forum but was denied a new topic??

Anyone doing the Singapore-Abu Dhabi or vv this year and applied for their Indian visa yet? Is Mumbai now included as a port where e-visas are ok as well as Cochin and Goa?

Any help much appreciated.

Also did you do your applications online or via an embassy or visa booking firm? What were the differences in costs,

Cheers Wendy

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately the formation on both sites is very unclear. It says e-visas can be used for two entries in a year, but does that mean one visit to three ports is one entry or three?

It also says Mumbai is now a port included in the e-visa but says something different elsewhere! I’ve contacted Celebrity as well to clarify but wondered if anyone from Oz had done this years itinerary and had experience with the e-visas as opposed to full visas.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From the Indian website - A tourist visa may be issued for 1 year with multiple entries as a default option and is non extendable and non-convertible. Consequently, the reduction in period of validity of visa sought by an applicant, would not alter the visa fees.

 

I did a dummy application and it is $195 AUD pp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Normally each port visit is a separate entry. This is because they have to do clearance and arrival each day. You can imagine that e.g. if they hadn't cleared due to a planned visit, but then it was cancelled due to bad weather or anything else, it would be an admin nightmare. Hence, each port visit is normally a separate entry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I previously applied for an Indian e-visa early this year for a Princess cruise visiting Cochin. I did not go on the cruise in the end as I received a move over offer 10 days before the cruise. However, I went through the process of the e-visa and it was $50US.

 

At the time, there was much discussion on our roll call about if we could just get an e-visa and although we were not going to Mumbai, that city was included in our discussion on our roll call. A number of people did the e-visa on line and did not use an agent. Generally people had some problems with re-sizing the photos but I just used a mobile phone photo and re-sized it to the size requested in the e-visa.

 

Anyway have a look at this thread.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/showthread.php?t=2574372

 

The Aussie lady was going on the Constellation and she mentions going to Cochin/Goa and Mumbai.

 

Hope it helps

Rosie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well this was the post I was thinking of, I don't think the link itself helps but the information is there anyway.

 

The link provided b y Domingo...

 

http://www.pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1514970

 

... works perfect for me.

 

For those having difficulty, here's what it says, with the pertinent bits in bold:

 

In order to promote cruise tourism in the country, and make India an attractive cruise tourist destination, the Ministry of Home Affairs has, on request of the Ministry of Shipping, exempted cruise tourists arriving with e-visa from the requirement of biometric enrolment for a period of three years i.e. till 31.12.2020. This will make immigration clearance of such passengers faster, leaving them with more time to spend on shore. This is also an important factor that helps cruise lines decide whether or not to include a destination in their itinerary.

 

The Ministry of Shipping has been working towards simplifying the immigration clearance procedure and providing passengers with a customer friendly and hassle free logistics process when they embark on or disembark from their cruise at the Indian ports. E-Visa has been in place in the five major ports of Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin & Chennai. Till now biometrics of passengers were required at port of first arrival for immigration clearance. However, with the existing facilities at the cruise terminals at these ports, the immigration procedure was taking more than the internationally accepted norm of clearing immigration for all cruise passengers in a maximum of 90 minutes. This is especially significant because, as per the schedule of arrivals of cruise ships for the current cruise season 2017-18 and 2019-20, many of the cruise ships coming to India are mega ships with 2000-4000 passengers on board. Most of these cruise passengers are expected to arrive on E-Visa, and biometric enrolment of all these passengers would slow down immigration clearance. Hence the need for the exemption.

 

Currently the following cruise lines are now accepting the e-visa for certain India itineraries.

 

Celebrity

 

Princess

 

Royal Caribbean

 

Contact your cruise line for their latest guidance for your particular itinerary if it visits India.

 

Most cruise lines will refer their guests to their preferred visa professional for the latest advice.

 

In the case of the three above it is Visa Central or CIBT (same company)

 

Sent from my SM-J530F using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you so much harz99 just found it too.

Also looked at an old Roll Call for April 2018 for the same cruise were on next year and e-visas are well and truly the go, YAY!!!!!

So all good thanks for all your help here as always cheers Wendy

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...