Forbidden from disembarking in India

[Lagoon Boy]

Can anyone help me? I am on the Nautica at our first Indian port (Mumbai). I have a valid Indian Business visa. The Indian Immigration authorities claim that this visa does not allow me to enter India as a tourist. Nobody at Oceania told me at any point that I needed an Indian Tourist visa to leave the ship. We have three more port stops coming up. Is there any hope? Marvin Klein; mbklein44 at yahoo dot com.

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

I'm sure Oceania are the same as the airlines with their terms and conditions i.e. It's the customers/travellers responsibility to ensure they the correct documentation. The carrier, be it an airline or cruise line will be fined for landing a passenger in most countries.

Edited November 29, 2014 by LaCroisiereS'amuse

[Floridiana]

Can you tell them that you need to do business, visit your customers, business partners or a business issue has come up that you need to take care of while in this particular city?

[Hambagahle]

You could try Floridiana's suggestion above but most likely you have already. The Indian officials are renowned for their bureaucracy and quite honestly, having experienced this myself, I don't think there is much hope. This is more than ironic because the Indian government just announced a new tourist visa process to start 1 jan 2015 - getting visas by internet, just like we have to get the ESTA to enter the USA.

 

In some places a strategically placed $20 bill in a passport might do the trick but in India I don't think it will help!

[rallydave]

Believe Gerry (Hambaghale) is correct in that you are "stuck" on board the ship until leaving India. Did a Google search and India is quite specific that you have to have the specific visa for what you will be in India.

 

Difficult to say you are there on business when you arrive on a cruise ship. Should they allow you to enter with your business visa, your spouse or companion would then be denied entry as their are specific instructions for people traveling with someone holding a business visa. They go so far as to state that if you have a specific visa and want to enter India for a different purpose, you have to have your visa reissued for the new purpose and the prior visa then becomes null and void.

 

It's too bad O didn't check the type of visa you had when boarding but, the ultimate responsibility for having the correct documentation falls on you.

 

Enjoy the ship and pretend you have a lot of sea days.

[LHT28]

Does India have such as thing as an E-Visa ? maybe you could apply online for the remain ports

[rallydave]

Does India have such as thing as an E-Visa ? maybe you could apply online for the remain ports

 

Doesn't exist at the present time and even if it did, would NOT work in this situation as the OP would have to remove his business visa and add in his tourist visa.

 

This shows that one has to be extremely vigilant in meeting all of their requirements before boarding the ship or things like this become out of their control and can ruin a great experience.

[wripro]

Your TA should have warned you about this. What a shame!

[rallydave]

Your TA should have warned you about this. What a shame!

 

Is your statement part of the nobody takes responsibility for what they do or don't do???

 

Totally disagree with your statement. While it is a shame, it is the OP's own fault and to blame their TA for not warning him is absurd. The TA has absolutely nothing to do with getting the required Visas. The responsibility and actually getting the proper Visa can only be performed by the passenger and the TA has no idea what visa the person has or doesn't have.

 

It is really a disgusting description of today's society where nobody seems to want to take responsibility for their own actions or in-actions!!!!!

[Merriem]

Not so harsh! A well informed TA should have gently reminded the customer

[RJB]

Not so harsh! A well informed TA should have gently reminded the customer

No question. A good T/A will know all this. That is what we are paying them for. We use one here and she knows all that. Always is on top of things. Could use an internet agency and save some money but we find that we get what we pay for. :):)

[bitob]

Our invoices always state which visas are required. Then we have the option of getting them ourselves or paying the premium for the cruise line to secure them.

 

I would bet the OP was told he needed a visa but ASSUMED the business visa would suffice. i think he only has himself to blame in this instance.

[RJB]

Our invoices always state which visas are required. Then we have the option of getting them ourselves or paying the premium for the cruise line to secure them.

 

I would bet the OP was told he needed a visa but ASSUMED the business visa would suffice. i think he only has himself to blame in this instance.

Quite true, but I know our T/A also reads the invoice and is on top of us to make sure we get what we need. With a good T/A it is not send it and forget about it. :):)

[bitob]

Quite true, but I know our T/A also reads the invoice and is on top of us to make sure we get what we need. With a good T/A it is not send it and forget about it. :):)

 

Agree -- but once we tell our TA we have our visas, he is not going to "cross examine" us to determine whether we have the correct one. He makes sure we get them, but he is not responsible if we decide to go a non traditional route -- which is what the OP here did.

 

Imagine the dialogue:

 

TA: OP, your trusty TA here just making sure you have your visa for India since you did not purchase it from the cruise line.

 

OP: No problem -- visa is in order. We are all set.

 

Agree with Rally Dave. If you decide not to use the cruise line's visa service, it's on you to get it right.

[azam71209]

He could try a desperation measure and contact his congressman's office or the US Embassy in India. Sometimes there's a way around things.

 

We are doing the Buenos Aires-Rio cruise in February and the Brazil requirements are unbelievably demanding but very specific. If you don't have the correct visa, you don't get off the ship or out of the airport. Period.

[bob278]

You could try Floridiana's suggestion above but most likely you have already. The Indian officials are renowned for their bureaucracy and quite honestly, having experienced this myself, I don't think there is much hope. This is more than ironic because the Indian government just announced a new tourist visa process to start 1 jan 2015 - getting visas by internet, just like we have to get the ESTA to enter the USA.

 

In some places a strategically placed $20 bill in a passport might do the trick but in India I don't think it will help!

But the program is not very clear. In most places, the e-visa discussion is tied to Visa on Arrival. And that program works only at nine airports in India and there is nowhere I can find that clearly states the new program is for entry everywhere. And here is the most clear statement I can find anywhere (and, believe me I've looked as we are on an Azamara cruise in March of next year).

 

This can be found at: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa.html and then on Instructions for Applicant

 

Instructions for Tourist Visa on Arrival (Enabled by ETA)

1. Applicants of the eligible countries may apply online minimum 4 days in advance of the date of arrival with a window of 30 days. Example : If you are applying on 1st Sept then applicant can select arrival date from 5th Sept to 4th Oct.

2. Recent front facing photograph with white background and photo page of Passport containing personal details like name,date of birth, nationality , expiry date etc. to be uploaded by the applicant. The application is liable to be rejected if the uploaded document and photograph are not clear and as per specification.

3. Tourist visa on arrival (TVoA) fee is US$ 60/- per passenger excluding interchange charge for credit/debit cards.The fee must be paid 4 days before the expected date of travel filled by you otherwise application will not be processed.

4. TVoA fee once submitted is non refundable.

5. Applicant should carry a copy of ETA along with him/her at the time of travel.

6. Biometric details of the applicant will be mandatorily captured at Immigration on arrival in India.

7. The validity of visa will be 30 days from the date of arrival in India.

8. Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is valid for entry through 9 designated Airports i.e. Bangalore,Chennai,Cochin,Delhi ,Goa, Hyderabad,Kolkata,Mumbai & Trivandrum .

9. This facility is in addition to the existing Visa services.

10. Tourist Visa On Arrival (TVoA) is allowed for a maximum of two visits in a calendar year.

11. Tourist Visa On Arrival (TVoA) once issued on arrival is non-extendable , non-convertible & not valid for visiting Protected/Restricted and Cantonment Areas.

12. Applicants can track the status of their application online by clicking visa status.

13. For any assistance call 24 * 7 Visa support center at +91-11-24300666 or send email to

indiatvoa@gov.in

 

Notice that item 8 indicates this is only good for people arriving at an airport. And this is the only place among many sites I've searched that talks much at all about ETA.

[bitob]

An excellent reason to permit the cruise line to obtain the visa for you.

You might pay a bit more, but the peace of mind is priceless.

 

Or use a reputable visa service --one that can guide you through the process. The fee you will pay is worth it.

Edited November 29, 2014 by bitob

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I feel really sorry for the OP, it must be a huge disappointment. And it would be an easy mistake to make, and too bad that no one caught it. I agree it's not the TA's fault, as suggested above. Presumably if the OP has a partner, said partner has a tourist visa and has been able to get off the ship and tour.

[Mura]

For me, I can see where the OP assumed his business visa would be sufficient. Why get another?

 

And our usual procedure is to get our own visas (one exception was when Oceania wanted us to change itineraries and provided the visas free of charge, so of course we accepted). So as great as my TA is, I wouldn't expect her to make sure I knew where all the t's and i's were.

 

Had I specifically asked my TA about visas, then I would expect to be given all the details. But how many cruise passengers DO have business visas? It could easily not be a question that a TA would ask ... or so it seems to me.

 

Most of us are only getting tourist visas and I can't blame a TA for assuming that was the case ... if the question even came up, which it may not have.

 

The conversation that I see happening is:

 

TA Do you have a visa?

 

OP Yes.

 

 

Mura

[computerworks]

India Allowing Visas on Arrival for U.S. Tourists

 

http://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/india-allowing-visas-on-arrival-for-us-tourists.html?u=00D22BF5-0327-4354-A1B1-24F244192C55

Edited December 1, 2014 by computerworks

[Hambagahle]

Mura - along similar lines of the "conversation" you reported (or purported to report!) I actually DID hear this exchange of conversation on the phone between an academic registrar for a study abroad programme and a student:

 

Registrar - "Hi. I am just calling to see if you have your visa for France yet?"

 

The student then replied - which I could not hear! - and then ...

 

Registrar - "No, Susie! A MasterCard will not do"

 

End of comment...

Edited December 1, 2014 by Hambagahle

[Mura]

ROFLMO! That is the funniest thing I've heard today, Gerry.

 

Mura

[bob278]

India Allowing Visas on Arrival for U.S. Tourists

 

http://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/india-allowing-visas-on-arrival-for-us-tourists.html?u=00D22BF5-0327-4354-A1B1-24F244192C55

 

Not very useful for cruisers unless they are flying into India to board a ship. The visa is only valid when arriving at selected airports. I marked the relevant text from the linked article in bold.

 

"The Indian government has just added the United States to the list of countries whose citizens can receive a visa

at the destination airport after applying online,

according to a Wall Street Journal article."

[Rickey 88]

Can anyone help me? I am on the Nautica at our first Indian port (Mumbai). I have a valid Indian Business visa. The Indian Immigration authorities claim that this visa does not allow me to enter India as a tourist. Nobody at Oceania told me at any point that I needed an Indian Tourist visa to leave the ship. We have three more port stops coming up. Is there any hope? Marvin Klein; mbklein44 at yahoo dot com.

 

I am replying only because we sailed the Nautica on a cruise that stopped in Mumbai, as a first port in India. I wont comment on your Visa situation as I am not an expert on India immigration laws. You really need to talk to someone who is far more familiar with their laws in India. Otherwise, you run a great risk on being confined to the ship and not being allowed off....

 

I do remember that Immigration officials boarded in Dubai and sailed across to Mumbai, holding a day long affair where we all had to show our passports and other documents to be stamped. India is quite different in many ways!

[marilynfaye]

Heard from my brother who is on board Nautica. Mr. Klein was unable to go ashore in any of the Indian ports. His wife, who didn't have benefit of a Business Visa and therefore had to get herself the correct document, was able to get off and joined the tours they had booked with other members of their Roll Call.

 

I am sorry for Mr. Klein, but it does make the rest of us more aware of the fine print. I have an Argentine visa in my passport from landing at EZE in 2011. Since that time everyone, even those arriving in Argentina by cruise ship, have to have a visa and one can be obtained on line. Although my 2011 one was still valid, I was concerned when we were back in South America last December that I would have trouble because mine was different than the newer one. Everything turned out fine, but one never knows until you are actually faced with it.