The charm of India is hard to put into words. This is the beauty of majestic temples, and the lazy bliss of a series of beaches of Goa and Kerala, and the seething life of Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta. A temperate climate, warm as fresh milk, water, pine forests, mountains and gardens is a real tourist paradise! It is not surprising that the flow of tourists in this country is increasing every year. And a considerable part of them are Russians.
Our compatriots are very fond of spending holidays in India - this is an indisputable fact. Some tourists, having visited Goa or Mumbai once, return there every year. They already know in which hotel it is better to stay, they are familiar with the visa regime and the features of customs clearance. But some Russian travelers are only planning to visit this fabulous land, and they have many questions. For example, does India need a visa? And if needed, how to get it?
Do I need a visa to India
Despite the fact that India has a very developed tourism business, this country has not introduced a visa-free regime. Therefore, the answer to the question “do I need a visa to India” is unequivocal: I need it. Entry permits must be issued to all categories of citizens - tourists, citizens who have come to visit relatives, business travelers, transit travelers, etc.
However, to attract tourists and to facilitate the procedure for obtaining entry permits, the government introduced visa benefits for citizens of some countries, including residents of the Russian Federation. This is the so-called arrival visa, which tourist groups from 4 people can get right after landing.
Visa to India: entry requirements
Upon arrival, you must fill out a migration card before customs control . Typically, forms are handed out even on the plane, and the flight attendants, when contacting them, help fill out the columns. But it will be useful to prepare yourself - print out an example of filling out a migration card and bring along a black or blue pen. Forms need to be filled out for each person separately, including for children. In graphs should be written in printed Latin letters.
Those who come to the country for a period of six months or more must register with the police within 2 weeks from the moment of arrival. If the length of stay is from a year or more, then you need to have a certificate with you about the absence of antibodies to HIV.
When you are in the country, you can extend the visa for another year. This will also require a certificate of the absence of antibodies to HIV infection.
Important information: A tourist visa in India cannot be extended, it can only be done outside of it. That is, leave, get a new permit and then come back.
If someone offers you to extend a tourist visa on the spot, you should know: these are fraudulent activities aimed at luring money for a fake service. Remember that violation of the visa regime in India leads to criminal liability.
How to get a visa
There are several types of visas: tourist, transit, student, etc. Most often, tourist visas are issued, so we will dwell on them in more detail. There are several basic ways to get entry permits:
1. Visa to India upon arrival. It is issued for residents of several countries. It is available to Russian citizens, but only for visiting Goa. It can be received by persons in the event of a sudden death of a relative (official documents confirming this fact are needed), transit travelers (stay in the country up to 72 hours) and tourist groups (from 4 people or more). In the latter case, you must pre-register the route through an Indian travel agency.
2. Independently apply for a visa to India.
3. Buy a tour at the agency. In this case, the company’s employees act as proxies, and independently order permission to enter the country.
Visa-free entry to India is permitted only to citizens of Nepal and Bhutan.
How to make a visa yourself
To obtain permission to enter, you must contact the Embassy of India (it is located in Moscow), or at the Indian consulates, which are located in Vladivostok and St. Petersburg. When applying, you need to submit documents for a visa to India. Each type of entry permit has its own list of documents, but these lists are indicative. That is, employees of the visa department may require additional certificates, and also have the right to refuse without explanation. But this happens extremely rarely.
Documents
In order to make a visa to India, you will need the following documents:
1. Application form completed in English.
2. Valid passport.
3. Application for permission, completed in English and in duplicate.
4. Two color photographs 3 × 4.
6. Copies of airline tickets, confirmation of reservation at the hotel or invitation and copy of the passport of the inviting person.
7. Copies of Russian and international passports.
8. A copy of the birth certificate of the child (for persons traveling with children).
9. Consent to leave from one of the parents, in cases where the child travels with family or friends.
10. If the tourist is an employee of any of the media, he needs to fill out a separate form.
Cost and terms of registration
The term for registration for citizens of the Russian Federation is 5 working days. For employees of the Russian media, the period is increased to 20 days. There is no consular fee in the usual sense of the word. But there is a fee for processing the necessary papers - 1600 rubles. It is charged for each person, including minor children.
The cost of a visa through a travel agency is 65-75 euros. The same amount is taken when applying for a visa upon arrival.
What to look for when processing documents
The passport must have at least six months left until the expiration date. The consent to the child’s departure and copies of the documents of the inviting party should be notarized.
If you plan to visit another country after a holiday in Goa, apply for a transit visa. Visa-free transit through India does not exist.
Do I need a visa to India, especially a pre-issued one? Indeed, today many travel agencies offer assistance in obtaining permission for arrival. This is a shadow method in which fake groups are formed that are entitled to obtain a visa directly at the airport. Such a service costs about 180 euros. However, there are also disadvantages - the group must fly in and fly out simultaneously, and if there are no problems with the first, then with the second they are quite possible. Indeed, sometimes travel agencies (namely, they are responsible for such tourist groups) cannot gather all the participants. It also happens that some of them left the borders of Goa, and this is strictly prohibited.
Indian Customs
There is a green-red corridor system at airports. The green bar is intended for those who do not import duty-free goods. Red - for citizens with goods from the restrictive list.
You cannot import products from the quarantine list into India. Of course, a tourist will not be arrested for a bag of seeds, and even sanctions, most likely, will not be applied, but still it is not worth bringing to a conflict. In general, we can say that the punishment will be adequate to the violation - for a small omission, the traveler faces an oral warning, but the illegal import of currency, gold or narcotic substances is prosecuted in all severity.
India is an amazing and magical country, a true paradise for all those who dreamed of a good vacation. Every tourist who has ever been here will remember a trip for a long time as one of the most enjoyable adventures in their life. Have a nice rest!