What does applying for an Indian visa in an EU country where I am not resident involve?
Can I just go into any Indian consulate in any EU country and apply in person for my visa without a residents permit for that country? Does anyone have experience with this?
Reply to this Hi, I cant answer your question for definate however what I do know, is that you cannot travel to India without a visa. So the probable short answer is that you can get a visa to enter India from any EU country that you happen to be in at that time. As for UK, let me update anyone who may be seeking a visa for India. The Indian Consulate have now handed over the entire visa operation to a private company. (May/June 08). Check the website for further info: http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk. It is important to check where you are in the Country (UK) as there are a number of offices, London, Birmingham, Edinburgh and they will only deal with the area that they have been assigned. So, for example, do not apply for a visa (or post) to Edinburgh if you are living in England! Hope this helps cheers nikonfreak
Reply to this Thanks Jamie 😊
I have now managed to get everything I need for the visa application and sent away for it. Hopefully it will arrive next week.
Mel
Reply to this Hi Mel, I have just returned from Birmingham where I got my visa and I have to say that it is a much improved system they have now. I was very satisfied with new set up, lots of young people working away with some even smiling! Unlike the old system! As for the future, I would have no hesitaion in posting my application next year having seen the office and the dedication of the staff. (I went to collect my visa this year). Myself and my partner will be in Kovalam on the 5th of Dec for a few days. Then onto Varkala for the rest of the two weeks we will be in India. Let me know if you are around and we can meet up and swap tales of India! cheers and take care, Jamie
Reply to this My geography is not so great so I dont know where Kovalam and Varkala is. We are flying to Delhi on 20th December. We will be in and around(Agra, Hardiwar, Kurukshetra) Delhi for 18 days. So if you are in the area then yes we can meet up for a coffee and chat. Yeah, I have already been told that I would be lucky to find coffee in some places :D .....
Reply to this Hi Mel, Thanks for the reply. Kovalam and Varkala are in Kerala, south west India. (beach)! You could not be any further away! Well allmost. As for the coffee, I admit the Indians like their chi and tea but I have allways found coffee everywhere I have gone. However if you go off the beaten track then I suppose it may get a bit more difficult. We have been to Agra (Taj)!. It is very busy and frankly, we found it a bit of a rip-off place as the local business people seem to think anyone with a white face is a millionaire! We have allways found the south of India to be much more laid back and more friendly. This is not to say there are not nice people in Agra! Will still enjoyed the trip to Agra and would go back and of course the Taj is allways worth seeing even if you have to pay through the nose to see it these days. As for Hardiwar, Kurukshetra you have lost me there and Im to lazy to get out the LP. Why there? and are you taking your kid with you? (hope this is not to personal a question). I wish I had been taken to India when I was 10/12 yrs old. What an adventure! When I see lots of very young kids in India with their parents I think, "you have no idea how lucky you are child". cheers Jamie.
Reply to this I have allways found coffee everywhere I have gone. However if you go off the beaten track then I suppose it may get a bit more difficult.
Well, that is good news! Call me a whimp, but I simply must have my ground and freshly made coffee. We are going to take our own coffee and filters to India for the off the beaten places.
We will go to Agra on Christmas day. We are going to avoid the tourist crowds by having dinner at someplace with a view of the Taj Mahal rather than actually going to it. Are there any restaurants that you recommend with a view? There are a few 5 star hotels but they seem to be a bit rigid and not a place to relax and order food and drinks when we want while enjoying the view. If we dont find a more easy going place we will just go to the Shanty lodge roof top restaurant. I hear the food is not Christmas day fancy, but at least the view is well worth it.
Hardiwar so we can check out the Ganges. We will go there for New Years Day and hang out at the Ganges. Kurukshetra is a bit off the beaten track but only around 4 hours by bus from Delhi. I want to see what India without the tourists is like.
Yes, I am taking my kid and boyfriend with me. She is almost 8. I told her, when she is 7 I will take her to India because after they are 7 they dont get sick as easily as when they are younger. I took her to Thailand a couple of times which she loved and the Thai people loved her. Many parts of Asia are so child friendly. Certainly a good place to travel with little kids.
Reply to this HI Mel, The trip sounds great and I hope all three of you have a great time. Kids are allways treated very well in India so Im sure she will have a great adventure. As for restaurants with or without a view, we stayed at a backpackers place and I cant even remember the name of the place! No view however there is a hotel which has a very large back garden that "overlooks" the Taj. I think it may have been called the Taj View though dont hold me to that as I am working from memory! (never a strong point with me). You can see the Taj from the garden which you pay a small fee to enter, if you are not staying at the hotel itself. We are only going for a couple of weeks (tourists)! just for a break from this s*** weather as my partner has not had a holiday all year. We cant go to "normal" tourist places after going to India. We intend to stay there eventually and flit between India and Nepal because neither Goverment wants you to stay any longer than your tourist visa. Loved Thailand when we went there. Chaing Mai in particular, cheers for now Jamie
Reply to this Mel,
In my couple of months in India, I never saw coffee for sale except at one place in Delhi and my hotel. The tea is awesome, but if you want coffee, you should consider taking your own supplies.
Reply to this Not so sure I am keen on what they do to the tea in India. Mixing it with that sweet condensed milk that is. I am going to take some ground coffee with me to India. It was pure heaven having a cup of nice coffee for breakfast every morning in Kyrgyzstan because I brought it with me. They dont seem to have any decent coffee there either. I decided to whimp out and always make sure I have decent coffee with me when I travel. 😊
Reply to this Yeah, coffee and underwear always has to be brought with me. I once tried to buy underwear in China. Too small! And I once tried to buy it behind the iron curtain in the old days. Too big! :D
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