spouse of scouse

Not sure if this should be posted here or in the MBTTUK main forum, apologies mods if it's in the wrong place.

Husband dual national - British and Australian passports
Me - Australian passport only, with UK spouse visa vignette

We're going to Perth in September to visit family, both travelling on our Australian passports. In the middle of that visit, we plan to spend two weeks in India and require tourist visas for this visit.

There won't be sufficient time to obtain our India tourist visas in Australia, so we need to apply for them in the UK.

No problem for me to apply in the UK, the requirements for a non-UK national to apply for this visa are clearly stated on the vfs global website.

I'm not so clear on what my husband needs to do. He doesn't seem to be able to apply as a non-UK national, not only because it's not true! but because the form that has to be filled in by non-UK nationals/passport holders is clearly not geared towards dual nationals.

I suppose he could just apply using his UK passport, but would that cause problems as we're flying in and out of Delhi from Australia? I also thought that both of us travelling on our Australian passports would be better from an Indian cultural point of view - our surnames are different and some of the smaller accommodation providers specify that they won't accept unmarried couples. Different surnames and different nationalities might seem strange?

Any insights most welcome, thanks.

Pollyana

Just because you must leave Australia on an Aus passport, that doesn't mean you have to arrive in India on it, or that you have use the same passport at Immigration as you show at a hotel.
Get the visa in his UK passport as its easier.

• When you check in for the Indian flight, you show the passports that contain the visas (his being a UK ones) as those are the ones which will get you entry to India.
• When you go through passport control in Perth you show the Aussie passports (as required by DIBP).
• When you arrive in India you show his UK//your Aus passport with visas to Immigration
• When you check into hotels you show the Aussie ones - as they have the same names in - you'll have the others with you, with the visas, just in case of queries (and maybe take a copy of your marriage cert?)
• When you check in to leave India show the Aussie passports as they are the ones which will get you into Aus.
• When leaving India show the ones with the visas
• When arriving back in Perth, use the Aus ones.

Hope that makes sense!

spouse of scouse

It makes sense, thanks heaps Polly Scouse will undoubtedly dither about using different passports but if it's the only way, he'll just have to get over it.

Pollyana

Its no different really from using Aus ones to enter here but the UK one to enter the UK if the queue is shorter etc!

Key things to think of are - when checking in for any flight, with the airline, you need to show a passport linked to a visa that will get the country to accept you. The airline won't care what passport you use to leave te country you are in, they just want to now that they can get you into the country at the other end and not get fined for incorrect paperwork. And they won't care if yu are flying on an Aus PP and your husband is on a UK one, as long as they both have visas attached.

Obviously DIBP want you both to enter and leave Aus on your Aus PPs so just take the UK one off him once he's checked in.
Then when you land in India they don't care what you left here on, they just want to see you are both OK visa-wise for entry, so give hi back his UK one and confiscate the Aussie one They also won't care about the matchng surnames/marriage thing as for Immigration purposes you are separate people.

The hotels etc will then not be ooking for visas etc, they just want ID so the logic of using the two passports with matching surnames makes sense, if they insist on a copy of the visa too just show the other PP as well and have a marriage cert to back things up in case you really get a jobsworth

Just tell him its the easiest way to do it unless he wants to try and get the visa for India while in Perth and send the whole time fretting that it won't come through in time

Bipat

Further to above--you enter India as an individual so all that matters is that you use the passport with the visa in it. On arrival you have to fill in an arrival form* and state which countries you have visited in the past few weeks. This form is handed in along with passport at immigration.

However at the hotel you must show the same passport with visa. This will be photocopied and you fill in another form (C) with all details. Your photographs may be taken at the desk.
The hotel has to do this and submit the form to the immigration authorities otherwise they are fined.
The security in India is very strict because of terrorist threats and movements of foreigners are tracked.


As regards different names etc. I have never seen this problem (my son travels with his partner without trouble), I think some hotels worry about a young couple 'off the street etc.'
But as OP says take your marriage certificate and other passports, the rule in India is--if you possess a document--take it!

*For arrival forms you will see people rush to a bench and grab the forms from a pile to fill in--take a biro with a fine point with you. The forms used to be given out on flights, but this seems to have stopped--at least on flights from UK.

Bipat

This point of you post is wrong I am afraid--As I said in above post the hotels are compelled by law to check your visa. (Not jobsworth--they could be heavily fined or closed down if fail to follow these rules).

(For foreigners travelling to India leaving the country can be a problem if all is not in order!!)

scot47

The convention that a wife adopts the husband's surname on marriage is not universal. In many parts of the world a married woman keeps the maiden name. I cannot see that you would have problems with this.

Bipat

Agree, when in a hotel in India I have often used my credit cards which are in my maiden name without any comment. (As I said above some do have concerns about their reputations and foreigners picking up women of the street!!) (Or-- foreigners picking each other off the streets --I am thinking of North Goa!!)

But------they have to check visas.

Pollyana

Fair enough, though as they will both have visas it wouldn't be an issue - they just show both passports (and th marriage cert if necessary!)