Indian Tourist Visa Process for Canadians

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm thinking a year ahead, and our cruise line assists us with visas, but the one for India may be the one that's time-consuming and fraught.  I'm wondering if anyone else here  from Canada doing a WC has dealt with this.  They have e-visas now, but you have to be travelling there within 120 days.  Our cruise starts in early January and we don't make it to India until late March.  That means the e-visa application would have to be done in late November, for entry into India in late March, and we will be in Florida by then, and the thought of sending passports back and forth via courier gives me the willies.  So I think a normal tourist visa is the answer.    If a normal tourist visa is the thing to do, we can get that here in Toronto well in advance.  Any experience in this?

[Heidi13]

Wendy - Viking use GenVisa in Washington DC. They provided all Visas except India & China. For the India Visa they have all the details and will submit the request at the proper time. Since we will already be onboard, once granted, GenVisa will forward to us on the ship.

 

For China, the China Embassy in USA would not grant visas to Canadian passport holders, unless a permanent resident of the US. Once the passports were returned from Gen Visa I had to submit our applications to the processing centre in downtown Vancouver. Submitted on Monday & pick-up passports on Thursday. China also states 3 months, but not from arrival China, it is 3 months before travel commences.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

17 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Wendy - Viking use GenVisa in Washington DC. They provided all Visas except India & China. For the India Visa they have all the details and will submit the request at the proper time. Since we will already be onboard, once granted, GenVisa will forward to us on the ship.

...

 

So you mean to say that the India visa will be processed and sent to you while you're on the cruise?  Do you know which type it will be?  I remember when I went to India on business, oh, 18 years ago.  A very tedious experience.  I've bookmarked this website for future reference:

 

https://www.global-gallivanting.com/the-complete-guide-to-applying-for-an-indian-visa-for-canadians/

[d9704011]

I have not applied for a visa to visit India but I don’t believe it is necessary to submit your passport to get an e-visa; uploading a copy of your main passport page and a photo is enough.  Here is the official application site:

 

https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

I have not applied for a visa to visit India but I don’t believe it is necessary to submit your passport to get an e-visa; uploading a copy of your main passport page and a photo is enough.  Here is the official application site:

 

https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html

 

Thanks, yes, I believe they put it in your passport when you arrive.  But it's unclear whether this visa would be applicable for multiple-entry cruise ports.  If so, that would be great.  And I guess it could be done electronically without being here in Canada at the time.

[Heidi13]

We require a multiple entry, as we visit 4 Indian ports. When completing the GenVisa application package, one of the forms was for the India eVisa. When they called me about India, she said they had the completed form and had a photocopy of our passport page. That is all the information they require for the eVisa.

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

We require a multiple entry, as we visit 4 Indian ports. When completing the GenVisa application package, one of the forms was for the India eVisa. When they called me about India, she said they had the completed form and had a photocopy of our passport page. That is all the information they require for the eVisa.

 

 

Us too.  Just to be clear, the eVisa covers that.  Great, thanks!

[friendlyfifer]

The e-visa is all done on the internet. As well as completing the multi-page form you also upload a passport photo. It must be in the correct format and the correct size. A good app for getting this right is Passport Photo. Once input the visa approval is E-mailed to you within 3 days. The e-visa only allows you to enter India at certain ports so please check that your first port is on the list. Your passport will then be stamped and this then allows multiple entries.

  I found applying and receiving the e-visa pretty simple and much better than a visa application was 10 years ago.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 hour ago, friendlyfifer said:

The e-visa is all done on the internet. As well as completing the multi-page form you also upload a passport photo. It must be in the correct format and the correct size. A good app for getting this right is Passport Photo. Once input the visa approval is E-mailed to you within 3 days. The e-visa only allows you to enter India at certain ports so please check that your first port is on the list. Your passport will then be stamped and this then allows multiple entries.

  I found applying and receiving the e-visa pretty simple and much better than a visa application was 10 years ago.

 

Did they ask you for the number of your visa from 10 years ago?  I'm worried about that, since I was in India on business about 18 years ago, and I've lost the old passport with my visa.  But nice to hear that the e-visa process is fairly straightforward.

[friendlyfifer]

46 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Did they ask you for the number of your visa from 10 years ago?  I'm worried about that, since I was in India on business about 18 years ago, and I've lost the old passport with my visa.  But nice to hear that the e-visa process is fairly straightforward.

They did ask for the visa number which I didn’t know. I think I left the question blank. To be honest they ask so much information on the form and yet the visa was granted so quickly. They can’t possibly verify all the information. I hope all goes well with your application and enjoy India. We have been 5 times to India. It drives us crazy at times but when we get home we can’t wait to go back again.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

2 minutes ago, friendlyfifer said:

They did ask for the visa number which I didn’t know. I think I left the question blank. To be honest they ask so much information on the form and yet the visa was granted so quickly. They can’t possibly verify all the information. I hope all goes well with your application and enjoy India. We have been 5 times to India. It drives us crazy at times but when we get home we can’t wait to go back again.

 

Thanks for the reassurance.  I don't know where that passport went, but I sure don't have it from 2001!  I spent only one week in India then, in Mumbai mostly, with a sidetrip up into the hills on the weekend.  I frankly came away with a very negative impression, Mumbai at its worst, but over the years I've begun to be willing to try again.  And we have four stops, which is nice.  Doing it on a cruise ship is the lazy way,  but also a way of getting a taste.  Speaking of taste, one of the things I want to do when in India is have some great food onshore!

[Heidi13]

On 10/25/2019 at 1:09 PM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Thanks for the reassurance.  I don't know where that passport went, but I sure don't have it from 2001!  I spent only one week in India then, in Mumbai mostly, with a sidetrip up into the hills on the weekend.  I frankly came away with a very negative impression, Mumbai at its worst, but over the years I've begun to be willing to try again.  And we have four stops, which is nice.  Doing it on a cruise ship is the lazy way,  but also a way of getting a taste.  Speaking of taste, one of the things I want to do when in India is have some great food onshore!

Just dealt with a similar issue for China where they ask about previous Visas. I stated we had previous Visas from about 10 yrs ago, giving a guess on the date. Probably got the year to with a couple of years.

 

Didn't cause any issue. Visa received within 3 days.