There is no visa-on-arrival in India for US citizens. You need to apply for it before you go.
Travisa Outsourcing handles Indian visa applications for US citizens.
https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/homepage
Three durations of visas are regularly available:
- 6-month multiple-entry visa ($76 + shipping to/from Travisa)
- 5-year multiple-entry visa ($166 + shipping to/from Travisa)
- 10-year multiple-entry visa ($166 + shipping to/from Travisa)
I shot for the moon and applied for a 10-year multiple entry tourist visa, even though my trip will be far shorter. Why not, right? This duration will cover me if I decide India needs more attention in 2013/14/15, etc. After all, it’s only an additional $90 US for a much wider window for travel. Note: India tourist visas become active the day they process, so a six-month-er may have been tight for my loose travel dates.
Step #1:
Fill out the visa application online on Travisa’s website.
Step #2:
Print out the application, SIGN IT (easiest thing to forget) and send off the signed application for processing, along with the following items:
- Your current US passport with at least 6 months of validity and at least 2 blank visa pages
- A copy of your drivers license or a major utility bill (for proof of address)
- Two current 1.5” x 1.5” passport photos (I shoot these myself for ease of use)
- Money order for the total ($208 including shipping in my case)
- Again, make sure to SIGN your application!
I take & make my own passport photos. DSLR + photo printer.
Step #3:
This is the anxiety-provoking part! Wait about 5-7 business days for return of your passport. Visas aren’t assured, and if you get denied, THEY KEEP THE APPLICATION FEE. Fun, right?
Step #3.1
This applied to me, but hopefully won’t apply to you – I had to fill out an additional form because I became momentarily proud and listed my profession honestly and correctly, as “production manager – film/tv”. The additionally required form was a declaration that I would not engage in missionary work or propaganda while in India (no problem there).
I signed said form and things moved forward, thankfully. But this is not a given – for visa applications to some countries, listing your media job, rights worker position or religiously-oriented profession could cause a denial or continuance of your visa or put you on the radar in ways you definitely don’t want. So I say:
PLAY IT SAFE! IF YOU ARE A JOURNALIST, HUMAN RIGHTS WORKER, PHOTOGRAPHER, FILMMAKER, MISSIONARY, WRITER, ET AL, LIST YOUR PROFESSION ON YOUR VISA AS “SMALL BUSINESS OWNER” OR SOMETHING EQUALLY INNOCUOUS. IT WILL, DOUBTLESS, SAVE YOU TROUBLE AND TIME.
Apply this logic to anywhere in Asia, Africa or South America, and/or anywhere with a potentially unstable government or economy.
Step #4:
Receive your passport via FedEx with its fresh new full-page Indian visa. I sent my passport, money order et al on December 13th and received my passport back on December 22nd. Technically six business days (truth in advertising!).
Not so bad, right? Nope. This one was easy. Some things that WERE NOT required for processing an Indian visa that might be required for others:
- India visa did NOT require proof of airfare or even a certain departure date.
- Nor did this visa application require a return ticket to get me home (or out of India, anyway).
A perk of the above: I didn’t have to book my airfare before I processed a visa. This helps greatly for flexibility, and nothing’s more nerve-racking than booking your airfare first, and then crossing your fingers HARD until your passport comes back from the consulate!
That covers me for India. Cool! But what if I wanted to stop in neighboring Nepal or Sri Lanka?
- Nepal has a current VOA (visa on arrival) for US citizens with any land border crossing or flight in. Easy!
- Sri Lanka just scrapped their VOA program TODAY (Jan 2). Ouch! Looks like this one requires an application while still in the US now. Good thing I checked! More info here, from the Economic Times.
UPDATE ON SRI LANKA TOURIST VISAS (edited on December 24th, 2013): Sri Lanka now has an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) system in place for tourist visa issuance prior to travel to Sri Lanka. I have not used the website in question myself and cannot comment on its functionality or turnaround times for visas, but on first look, the site/system looks fairly well laid-out and promising. Worth a shot, no?
Said Sri Lanka example tells the tale – visa availability, paperwork, processing time, fees etc are ever-changing without warning. Take nothing for granted and do your research!
Here’s a checklist of visa questions to ask yourself before you leave home for any international trip:
- Am I planning to visit multiple countries on my trip? Can I get VOA at all, or should I apply from home? (Know your region and what to expect!)
- Do I need proof of my airfare there-and-away to process visas?
- How long is my trip going to be? Will I still have six months validity on my passport if I enter additional countries later in my trip? Will I have enough blank visa pages? (If not on either, RENEW YOUR PASSPORT AND/OR GET ADDITIONAL PAGES ASAP!)
- Do I expect to exit and re-enter a certain country? Will this require multiple visas, or does the visa I have cover multiple entries?
- Do I need more time in one country than my current visa allows? Is there a way to renew said visa by a “visa run” to the nearest international border, or do I need to take up the matter with the consulate?
- Am I thinking of working on the sly while abroad? If so, is a work visa possible, or more trouble than it’s worth?
- Have I brought along enough passport photos for all border crossings and additional visa applications? (I like to bring at least ten along – but if you run out, there are often ways to get additional photos. Don’t worry!)
