Re: Visa help.
 

My 1-year X looks like this http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk/images/kno...a_clip_new.jpg
but without the 180 day endorsement.

What you are being told makes no sense. The Immigration website I gave a link for is also linked by the VFS site and it is quite clear i) that registration is only required if stay is to be over 180 days, ii) that registration is only needed on first visit.
In Goa (and from discussions on other threads also in most other places in India) registration implies being given a RP/RC - indeed the relevant law says that the registering officer 'shall' give you this document.
Depending on which FRO you use you may have to get an exit stamp before leaving India; but you only give up the RP when 'finally' leaving.

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

My visa is different to yours Andy, there is a printed area re registration. The Pune office is experienced as 100s of students go there also foreign business people. The Officer agreed the 'new' rules were crazy (he laughed) but said nothing he could do about it. (We are only staying 10 weeks this time).
OH with older visa has no problems does not need to register, which adds to the nonsense.
Unfortunately we have to go along with what they say, arguing will not get anywhere). Regarding future visits we will find out later, the main concern this time is that we can both leave India without problem.
Would be a bother to do it in Karwar where present property is as need to go to Hubli (most of the day journey).
Anyway thanks for your interest, about to flyback to Pune hope at least to get the local Aundh police station form that we are actually staying there.

Re: Visa help.
 

Like this?
http://britishexpats.com/photopost/d...m/visabit3.jpg

(sorry if it's the wrong way round).

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

I think it is clear from what you say, you do have a special and different status. Presumably that extends to the rule about registration and being out of station for more then 2 weeks. The rules indicate very clearly that you have to re register once you move away from the state you registered in for more than a period of 2 weeks. You obviously have don't have to do that because of your very special status. You obviously know a lot more about India than people who live there all year or for six months, some of whom have diverse experiences over many years, and some who are also married to Indians. My winter holiday wish to you is that you would consider the knowledge of others alongside your own and would not be so defensive. I am clearly going of thread but have to say -Team Anna 2012! what planet is he and Kiran Beddi on. India is in a mess and yes the UK too, but at least people are not starving as they are in India and women have rights to live.

r

Re: Visa help.
 

... and that may just be the problem - both Student and Employment visa holders do need to register within 14 days, but X visa (and B visa) holders do not - according to both MHA and Immigration FAQs

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

Andy I can only say what is actually happening 'on the ground'.
Family members from USA are here for the wedding and rules have changed for one of them who has a new visa.
Previously they all came on tourist visas, but this time the one individual has been told that all those who were born in India or had father born in India must have an X visa. (This is USA). His Visa also has the same registration instruction as mine. We are both going this afternoon to the office. I now have the police authority of residence.
Whatever insults Ruskin may give I can only report what is actually happening. Regardless of what you have read. There seem to be some new rules.
Will let you know what happens but will be out of touch for a while as no dongle to use in karwar.

Re: Visa help.
 

You could take a copy of the MHA/Immigration rules with you.

AndyD 8-)#

P.S. Are these registration instructions on the new visas the same as the picture I posted?

Re: Visa help.
 

I tried quoting last time !!! I also had a printout of the Pune office website, which is apparently quite clear. OH had to restrain my irritation as making situation worse!!!!

Instructions on visa are different from the picture. 3 lines of small print, which I only discovered after the visa arrived. These were not on previous 5 yr.

Re: Visa help.
 

3 lines like my #1003 - or different to that?

In my experience there is no point quoting - hand over a nice clean (preferably colour) copy and let them study it, assure them it is current.

AndyD 8-)#

P.S. I ztill get annoyed that thiz zite uzez Oxford (or maybe American) zpell check.

Re: Visa help.
 

but the zite has redeemed itself by showing the rupee symbol ₹ (in my browser anyway)

Re: Visa help.
 

I think the spell check is american not english. My spelling is poor so I almost always use it and sometimes it wants me to change words I know are the correct english spelling.

Re: Visa help.
 

Yes, colour and sanitise etc. - but the trouble with spell checkers is they don't distinguish between lose loose; your you're; there their they're; its it's; etc.

AndyD ₹ ₹ ₹ ₹ ₹ ₹ ₹

Re: Visa help.
 

And to and too!

English grammar for you!!:confused::eek:

Re: Visa help.
 

Re: Visa help.
 

Had no facilities for printing.
But all is clear now, after 2 hours in the registration office . They are giving these new form visas to 'dependents' that is spouse or children of previous Indian passport holders.
I was told I could have asked for endorsement with the 180 day rule on application. How could we know that?????
Fortunately had all OH documents which they asked for.
I am now registered for 1 year only. (will sort this out when return to UK).
Had to pay 30 dollar late fee, 10 dollars a day.

Re: Visa help.
 

if you are a brit married to an indian do you still have to stay out for two months. thank you.

Re: Visa help.
 

Do you mean someone of Indian origin or an Indian national?'
If of Indian origin and travelling on a 'long term entry visa (X)' the answer is no for both, but as above there are new rules on registration.

If travelling on tourist visas then the 2 month rule applies to both whatever the spouse's origin.

I don't know the rules about spouse of an Indian national but I met a German women in the Pune office, married to a Goan and living in Goa for 9 years. She had come there for extension of her visa. Presumably she originally had a long-term visa. The last I saw she was leaving the building muttering expletives as she had yet again been given only one year extension.

Re: Visa help.
 

both: ... The MHA site is quite explicit that renewals are only for one year (to a max. of 5 years) BUT there is a strange new rule about PIO's (not sure about spouses) applying to the FR[R]O for exemption from the two-month rule (presumably before leaving India). Also of course spouses of Indian Citizens can get PIO cards.

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

A friend whos husband has a PIO card now travels on a one year tourist visa and applies each time for an extension to the 180 days as they stay for more than 6 months. This involves filling in forms in triplicate, visits to police stations and a visit to her by the police, presumably to check where she is staying. Other years she has got an extension but this year she is still waiting to hear.

Re: Visa help.
 

Is this the same friend you mentioned before?

If she goes back to an entry X visa she would go through the same procedure, as registration, even if staying less than 180 days, unless asking for endorsement with 180 day rule on application.

I would be interested to know if any foreign husbands of Indian wives are getting visas with the new registration rules?

Or is this a way of allowing Indian husbands to control their wife's travel, even when they are no longer Indian, as all husband's docs. have to be produced?

All Indian women (in India) have to get a letter of "No objection" from husbands or fathers when they apply for or renew passports. Causes a lot of annoyance and difficulties, if for instance husband has gone ahead abroad.

Re: Visa help.
 

Amazed! I thought tourist visas were non-extendable, full stop?


.

Re: Visa help.
 

I don't think so - chapter & verse please (yes I remember your previous discussion - but it ain't documented anywhere).
???????

spouses of Indian citizens can get PIO cards! - and what new registration rules?

And afaik T visas are still not extendable - even for PIO's or their spouses!!

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

My thoughts exactly Andy! married to a PIO or Indian National they are entitled to apply for PIO !

Re: Visa help.
 

Andy, it is documented on the visas; how many times to tell you. If I could scan mine on I would show you.

This is new: previous 5 year visas (which I have always had) since visas were first needed were over-stamped with the 180 day rule for registration. As I said above such visas are also being issued in USA: I have seen one issued to the son of Indian born nephew. We were told at Pune it is because we are "dependents".

The Pune office told us we could have asked at application for the old endorsement, I don't know if this is true, but they are a senior office. They can do extensions etc. I will find out in UK.

I think I have seen a reference to this immediate registration rule on one of the web sites and will try to find it again for you.

What did you mean by chapter and verse? I will try to reply.

As for PIO cards they are not that easy to get for older British Indians who had their passports taken at naturalisation and not returned (in 70s). In those days photocopying did not spring to mind. My OH could not get one previously as no copy of his Indian passport although now with an appropriate affidavit we may apply.

My question about husband spouses meant those married to British Indian women and whether they were also getting the new style visas.

Re: Visa help.
 

How very backward - just shows how women are still second class in India

Having spoken to a number of Kashmir folks, they have to pay quite a lot of 'extra' to get a passport.

India certainly has a long way to go in the equality stakes me thinks !

Dread - x

Re: Visa help.
 

I thought this was the case as well - in fcat on every visa I have had it is actually printed (in very small letters) on the actual visa itself.
I would love to know exactly how this person manges to get their T visa extended...... spill the beans please :fingerscrossed:

Dread - x

Re: Visa help.
 

Well I did scan (part of) mine and showed it at #1003 in this thread, you never replied as to whether the 'fine print' lines are the same on yours (as I and many others have pointed out these lines have been there for years and years). Everyones visa is different since they included photo id - I linked to the image on the VFS 'know your visa' page - admittedly that has the section with the fine print blurred out for some reason - but apart from that is your visa different from everyone else's?
I presume you mean the green "No registration required if..." stamp, which was just repeating the regulations and is also on the Landing Permit.

I agree that at first glance the latest MHA website (see #997) is ambiguous in that it isn't immediately clear that only those long-term visa types listed are liable to the 14 day rule, but this is made perfectly clear in part I marked in bold
That would obviously help to remove confusion in Pune officers' minds, but so should the rules on the MHA website.
If you found the 'above' website that would be 'Chapter and Verse' - as are my link & quote in #997
... and my comment about PIO cards holds up - if spouses can get X visas by virtue of marriage then their OH's are being recognised as NRI/ PIO - in which case the spouses can get PIO cards instead of X visas.

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

Andy I did reply, pg 68--10008

yes my lines of print are different, they are different from those on OH's visa which has 2 years to run.
It is the same as that of young relative from USA who told he must have an entry visa and not his usual tourist.

Andy, whatever you have read about PIO cards have you personally actually tried to get one ???

Previously it was possible to get long term X visas with documents such as school certificates, place of birth on passport etc. etc, but not PIO cards a copy of old passport or affidavit was essential.

Then came the Headley affair when for a year even long term visas were not possible without the above docs. I had a year tourist even though OH still had his X, I had provided a photocopy of this and was told it was not adequate and that he also would not have got an entry at that time without the now essential docs.

2010 rules eased and I got back a 5 year and was told the affidavit, which we now had, was not necessary, I practically forced them to take a copy of the bl***y thing.
When the new visa arrived it had the 3 lines of print stating that registration within 2 weeks was required.
Andy whatever you have read, personal experience is what it is.

Re: Visa help.
 

BiPat - re-read your #1008, it does not answer the question!
OK it's only three lines of print - how about typing them in if you can't scan your passport; just skip any that are the same as #1003. (fwiw you should always have scans of your pp and visa pages somewhere e.g. emailed to self - in case you lose your pp).

There was an enormous fuss in the US about a year ago when they started insisting that PIO's get X visas not T's - it was justified by saying they should get PIO cards!!!

... and personal experience is what it is, for you, this time, at this place; just that; which is fine so long as no-one reading your post assumes it should also apply to them, in a different place at a different time. In such circumstances the MHA website is a more trustworthy authority.

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

Passport is in safekeeping in rels. house I will type in tomorrow. I have multiple copies of passport and other certificates in various places in India ---I don't always have access to a laptop.

The requirements for PIO card are quite specific (this is not personal) I presume you have read them. OH did not have birth cert or old passport so could not get one.

We have always had long term entry visas (except for 2009) are you saying this is not true??? I presume there are many others in the same position as there have been others on this forum asking for advice as to how to get PIO cards when they have no birth cert. etc.

It was because of K800's friends experience (old post) that I registered, I was not going to bother.

Re: Visa help.
 

Unable to access a scanner.
Visa has following print:

Registration required within 14 days of arrival in India for Visas Valid for more than 180 days.
Tourist Visa Non-Extendable etc.
Not Valid for Prohibited Areas etc

There is no stamp regarding visits less than 180 days.

After quick search I found the following link, it is a USA site and re Bangalore office, I have not read it in detail so if not applicable appologies.
But it mentions "any visa valid for more than 180 days".

http://totallyexpat.com/global-immig...ent-authority/

Re: Visa help.
 

OK so the good news is that you have the same photo visa as everyone else. The bad news is that the badly worded MHA site has confused a lot of people including PUNE FRO officers and Fragomen Global Immigration Services - but I still reckon 'my mha.nic.in trumps your totallyexpat.com'.
N.B. There is what seems to me a new PDF on Foreigners' Registration - it avoids the confusing wording of the FAQ page but still goes all around the houses: http://mha.nic.in/foreigDiv/pdfs/RegForeigners-11.pdf
(and before anyone asks, I did get to it from the main page).

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

The point I was making is that the over- stamp re 180 days and "no need to register" is no longer there, this is new, this is different.

I was planning to ignore the instructions, but the previous poster who said their friend was refused exit when they did not register meant I did not wish to take risks.
OH who has the old style visa had it confirmed that he did not need to register, I had to. The over-stamp is obviously the key. Is it a mistake that it is omitted?? I will find out on return.

Relative from USA had identical visa without an over-stamp.

I assume you accept now that it is possible to get long term entry visas even when a PIO card is not possible???

Re: Visa help.
 

Despite tourist visas not being extendable my friend now has her extension. She entered the country in September and can now stay until May. Why she should be able to I do not know although this time her husband is not well and has been in hospital a couple of times but she had an extended stay last year also.

Re: Visa help.
 

Can you find out who she bribes at the FRO in Panjim!!!i`d like to meet them.

Re: Visa help.
 

I accept that where things Indian are concerned most things are possible and nothing is certain, but the published requirements for getting a long-term (i.e. 5 year) 'X' visa from the UK appear identical to those for a PIO card (also there was a big fuss in the USA a year or so back when PIO's were refused 10-year T visas and told to get the more expensive X visa or PIO card or OCI). I certainly accept that some people have trouble getting PIO/OCI if they can't produce an old passport** - there have been several reports that these difficulties are more likely to occur for people who don't 'look' Indian or those producing ancestral documents relating to 'British India'. However I would have expected these people to have the same problems getting a 5-yr 'X' - and, in Goa at least, be unable to Register property in their name.
I have no personal knowledge because I don't qualify for PIO, having no Indian ancestry that I know of.

** patently ridiculous since the rules allow you to go back three generations - to a time when very very few Indians would have had a passport (and when nearly all official documents would relate to 'British India').

AndyD 8-)#

Re: Visa help.
 

Agree that the list of required documents now is the same for both. Could it be that originally the requirements for visa were less strict and that they accepted other documents ? and used discretion. I can't remember.

If a 5 year had ever been issued then to renew presumably would not be so difficult except in (2010), when I was refused.

(As to looks I don't think OH has ever been for his own visa, usual male excuse, "you are better at these things dear".
In 2010 I was told re my own renewal "even if he looks Indian, doesn't mean he is Indian" although she laughed. In 2011 back to normal.)

Re: Visa help.
 

going to nepal, bali, for two months out. what of two, is best for visa, and how long will I get. thank you.

Re: Visa help.
 

May be worth reading thro` this re Bali, I know Malayasia HCI only give to residents and Nationals.

http://indianembassyjakarta.com/consular_visa.html

Re Bali...you do know you can only get a visa for 30 days!!

Re: Visa help.
 

Thanks for that...where can I go apart from uk to get 6 months visa.
anywhere. thank you.