Hi Not sure if this is the right forum... mods, please move it if you think this belongs somewhere else. Has anyone had any experience with the visa on arrival for India? I have applied for the OCI card for my younger one, but am yet to receive it. I am traveling in 2 weeks, and since I don't have the OCI, I decided to do the visa on arrival for her. But from what I see online, the visa is apparently only valid for 30 days and cannot be extended. Our stay in India is for 6 weeks. Is there any way we can extend the visa beyond 30 days while in India? we do know that there is the option of applying for visa here, but that would still take 2 weeks to process apparently and we don't have the time :-( Can someone please advice what is the best course of action here?
PT ..I think its possible. Just check with them at the airport when u land. U have to fill up a form at the local police station when u want to extend. I vaguely remember this some years ago but we got the POI card in the last min.
JAG, yes... hopefully it is that simple. This whole confusion is because of the new visa on arrival thing that we have now. And these days, the PIO is not valid apparently... everyone needs to have a OCI. And the processing times for the OCI is extremely slow!
Tashi, there is no expedited process for OCI apparently. We applied back in March end, but haven't even been requested the match up until now. I think the only way is to get an expedited visa for $200 now, if the extension for the tourist visa on arrival is not doable!
I travelled on PIO for my son this JAN. Is it something I am missing to understand? Both my kids have lifetime PIO now and we never applied for OCI. Where you able to track your OCI status? When I applied for PIO they sent me a tracking status link. I would definitely call up the embassy and explain your urgency.
Chitra Yes, my older DD has PIO, but from this Jun onwards, PIOs are no longer valid, all must have OCI apparently. See info here on changing PIO to OCI - Consulate General of India Houston Texas, USA (Official website) Yes, we have been tracking OCI status online, but it is still under process at the Consulate and has been like that for the last couple of weeks.
Thanks PT. This is confusing. I applied for PIO for my son last year and Oct and none of this was mentioned. When we travelled to India my DD PIO was stamped as Life time. Are these people kidding me now ? I have to apply for OCI for kids. This is so annoying and irritating. Thanks for letting me know !
@Chitravivek and @ justanothergirl, I know.... it is very irritating. The instructions are super confusing!
