border crossing & getting an Indian visa in Nepal


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May 21st 2009
Published: May 21st 2009
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Sonauli


To get to Kathmandu, the most common route by land is through Sonauli. If you're coming from Delhi, take the train to Gorakhpur (for info on trains, see blog on trains in India), and the buses going to Sonauli are on the street across from the train station (perpendicular to the train stn). There are many buses and it takes 3 hours to get to the border (there's a lot of info on the internet and in guide books about this). When we got to the Indian customs office, an Indian official told us that the Nepali immigration accepts only US dollars for their visa and we have to exchange money here (to get US dollars) which was a complete lie! He also said that the 500 and 1000 Indian Rs bills are illegal in Nepal so we also have to exchange them here--again a complete lie! (The corruption of the Indian officials gets even better, read on.) The Nepali visa is actually 1400 Indian Rs for 15 days and 2200 Rs for 30 days. If you need more days, you'll have to apply for it at the Immigration Office in Kathmandu (probably another one in Pokhara as well). Once we got our Nepali visa, we were told that there was a strike and a road block so no buses were going to Kathmandu. This was Monday, April 6, 2009. The strike was scheduled for Wed so this was an unexpected strike. We were told that there might be buses going in the evening around 8pm. I needed money and there were no ATMs anywhere, neither on the Indian side nor on the Nepali side (unless you have an Indian/Nepali bank card). We were told that the nearest ATM was in Bhairawa which was about 4 or 5 km away, so we took a bicycle rickshaw to the ATM. Our rickshaw guy knew exactly where the ATM was, the only one that was working in town. We set the price for the rickshaw ride at 100 Nepali Rs (NRs) but when we got there, we gave him 200 NRs because there were 2 of us and both with heavy backpacks, and we could see that he really struggled with the bike to get us there.

We all took the overnight train to Gorakhpur so it was about 9 or 10 am when we crossed the border which was a long wait till 8pm so we took a room in a guest house for just till 6pm. We managed to negotiate the price down to 200 NRs for the room. It was great because I finally got some sleep as I didn't sleep much on the train.

We left for the bus station in Bhairawa around 6:30pm and caught the 8pm bus going to Kathmandu. The bus we took was really small and uncomfortable. There was no room for my legs. If you are bigger than 5'7", I suggest finding a bus that's comfortable as the ride is 10 hrs. The bus we took stopped twice for food/toilet break and we got to Kathmandu at 6am. The ticket cost 350 NRs and you have to buy it at the ticket counter in the bus station (not on the bus), and it's the same for going from Kathmandu to Bhairawa, the 350 NRs is fixed. On our return trip, once we got to Bhairawa, we took a local bus to the border town of Sonauli.

At the border, the corruption of the Indian officials rears its ugly head again: one of the girls had a Nepali visa that had expired 2 days ago. She was told in Kathmandu that there was no need to extend her visa there because the Immigration Office will charge the same whether she is extending it for 1 day or 15 days, and that at the border, they will only charge her $2 US (150 NRs) for every day beyond the expiry date of her visa. Since she was only 2 days over her visa expiry, she did not extend her visa in Kathmandu. However, when she got to the border, the Nepali officials were all ready to charge her the $2 per day but they didn't want to give her the exit stamp because they said that the Indian officials might not let her through with an expired Nepali visa (even though she had a valid Indian visa) so they told her to check with them first. Sure enough, the Indian officials wanted her to pay $32 US because her Nepali visa had expired, and there's no arguing with them or else they won't let you into India. They are just looking for any excuse to make you pay and exchange money at the border. What the girl ended up doing was to go to another border crossing as somebody had told her that officials at another crossing might not be so corrupt.

Again, there were many buses going to Gorakhpur and we took the government bus as it was cheaper than the private buses and the price is fixed (rather than having to haggle with the owners of private buses—I'd do anything to avoid haggling).

To apply for an Indian tourist or transit visa in Kathmandu, go to the Indian embassy at around 6 - 6:30am and start lining up outside the embassy. There, you'll find tons of foreign nationals from all over the world so it's a great place to make friends and find travel partners for India (since everybody there is applying for the Indian visa at the same time, timing with a partner might work out better). Doors of the embassy open around 8:30am but meanwhile, there's a shop that sells chai and breakfast right where the queue is so you can get some sustenance in case you didn't have breakfast before coming. Once the doors open, you go through security check and then you have to take a ticket at a ticket machine, and then go wait at the visa section where the counters open at 9:30am. Meanwhile, they will provide telex forms. Take one and fill it out. (the telex is for them to check to see if you are who you say you are) When your number comes up, give them the telex form and pay a nominal fee for the telex (I think it was 130 NRs). They will just look at your passport and give it back to you and give you the visa application form. On the copy of the receipt they give you will be written the date you must return to apply for the visa (usually a week from the date they take your telex). Return on the specified date to hand in your application form. Please note that the telex forms are not accepted after 12 noon so if your number doesn't come up before 12 noon and you are desperate, you have to tell them and they might take your telex after 12 noon. If you don't get to hand in your telex on the first day, your ticket can be signed by an official so that when you come back the next day, you don't have to take another ticket, you can be served first before the ticket holders of the day are served. You will see, while waiting, that before they start with the numbers, they will serve first the people they did not get to from the day before. However, when you come back to apply for your visa, there's no time limit and they will take everybody's visa application no matter what your number is, so it's not imperative that you come early to line up. If you are really really desperate or have a special situation, talk to the guy sitting in the office at the back (to the right of the counters) and if you're lucky and it's not a bad/busy day, he might help you.

When handing in your visa application with your passport, you need one photo, a copy of your previous Indian visa, and the fee (see below). If you're applying for a transit visa, you will need a copy of your flight itinerary. For a Chinese national applying for a transit or tourist visa, you must also have a copy of your return flight home or a flight out of India. (Apparently, as of April 15, 2009, they will reject the tourist visa applications of most Chinese nationals with no explanation. They will give visas to some but for only a month or 2 and maybe 3 if you're really special or know somebody in the embassy. But this could change on a whim as the Chinese Indian relations are always going up and down and all around.) Once you have handed in your visa application, you have to return on the same day at 5pm to pick up your visa. They will call out names as they are being processed so no need to line up.

The transit visa is for within 15 days and the cost is 1500 NRs except for US nationals who must pay 3050 NRs, and for Russians and Romanians, it's 3200 NRs. For tourist visas from 1 month to 6 months, the cost is 3050 NRs (not sure how much US nationals pay). People with Israeli passports cannot apply for another Indian visa consecutively if they already had a previous one. Once their first visa has expired, they have to wait 6 months before they can apply for another Indian visa (restriction is imposed by the Israeli government).

If anyone has more info or different info, please leave a comment. thanks

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30th November 2009

VISA INQUIRY
Hi, I'm a Canadian coming to Kathmandu from Dubai on Wednesday for 2 days, then going to Pokhara for 2 days only. I want to travel to India after can I apply for a visa on the spot in Kathmandu can it be done right away? Thankyou Khush
23rd August 2011

about 500 and 1000 rupee notes
Indian 500 and 1000 currency notes are not allowed for transaction in Nepal. read this: http://goindia.about.com/b/2010/07/16/reminder-not-to-take-1000-and-500-rupee-notes-to-nepal.htm
25th June 2012

about 500 and 1000 rupee notes
yes, but the Nepali visa was 1400 Indian Rs for 15 days or 2200 Indian Rs for 30 days and the Nepali immigration accepted 500 and 1000 Indian Rs notes at the border when you are paying for the Nepali visa. you cannot use them anywhere else in Nepal but you can at the border.

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