Q. 1 Do we require a visa to travel
to India?
Ans. Yes, all foreign nationals MUST obtain a visa to travel
to India (Except Bhutan & Nepal Nationals).
Q. 2 Requirements for obtaining visa.
Ans. - All applicants are required to apply in the prescribed
visa application form along with one passport size photograph,
passport in original, flight details/ itinerary and the
prescribed fee. Passport must be valid for a minimum period
of six months and in cases of long term visas, at least
till the duration of the visa requested for.
Note: Visa Applicants from NSW and South
Australia should lodge/ send their applications at/to the
VFS servceis centres in Sydney and Adelaide respectively. All other Visa Applicants
should lodge their applications at other centres (check VFS Centres).
Visas for minor children (under 15 years):
Application MUST be furnished with following documents
• Copy of Date of Birth certificate,
• No Objection Letter from both the parents along
with the photocopy of the relevant pages of their passports
to verify signatures,
• Both parents MUST sign the visa application for
minor children.
(Please see 'Information for Visa
Applicants' for more information)
Q. 3 How do we pay the required fees?
Ans. Payment of fee will be accepted in Cash (only at the
counter) / Bank Cheque( draft) and Australian. M.O only.
Personal cheques will not be accepted.
Q. 4 Is a Temporary Resident considered
a Non-Resident for purpose of issue of visa?
Ans. Yes
Q. 5 How long does it take a foreign
national not resident in Australia to obtain a visa for
India?
Ans. It would normally take 10 working days. However, this
time limit does not apply to cases where references are
required to be made to authorities in India. ProcessApplications
that are sent by post or through agents/couriers .
Q. 6 What is the validity period for a visa ?
Ans. The period of validity starts from the date of issue.
Q. 7 What are the regulations/requirements
about Vaccinations, if any, to visit India?
Ans. All Foreign tourists should be in possession of their
Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate conforming to International
Health Regulations, if they are originating or transiting
through Africa or South America. Normally a yellow fever
certificate is valid for a period of 10 years.
No other vaccination certificate is needed. However, you
may wish to consult your General Practitioner.
Q. 8 Why does it take 2 months for issue
of a fresh passport in place of an expired one?
Ans. Issue of a fresh passport in lieu of an expired one
takes 2 months as reference to original passport issuing
authorities needs to be made for verification of particulars/antecedents
etc.
Q. 9 When to renew the passport and
when to apply for a new passport.
Ans. An Indian passport is normally valid for 10 years for adults and 5 years for minors from
the date of its issue. It must be replaced with a fresh
passport after expiry of its validity. Application for a
fresh passport can be made up to one year before the date
of expiry of the present passport. It is always better to
apply well in time. Similarly, if your passport is due to
expire but has not lived its life of 10 years /5 years you should
apply well in time for its renewal.
Q. 10 Requirements for applying for
new/fresh passport.
Ans. All passport Applicants have to register online. After registering online,print out the form and lodge along with current
passport (and additional booklets, if any, issued).
Four latest photographs (picture size 3.5cm x 3.5 cms) one photograph
to be pasted on the application form.
Minimum processing time for issuing new
passport is minimum 2 months.
Q. 11 Requirements for applying for
lost passport.
Ans. Police report / event number regarding the loss of passport. Submit
photocopy of the lost passport, if available. If photocopy
is not available, number, date of issue and place of issue
of the lost passport MUST be furnished. Eight photographs.
Form for new passport duly filled in, one photograph to
be pasted on the application form and signed across. If
the applicant is working then two references from employers
are required. If the applicant is student then two references
from university/college are required. Reference letters
from two Indian nationals along with the notarised copy
of their passports.
Duplicate passport in lieu of a lost passport is issued
after requisite verification and clearances. Processing
may take minimum 6 months. In case of damaged passport minimum
processing time required is 2 months.
Q. 12 Requirements for change of name
in passport after marriage/divorce.
Ans. All passport Applicants have to register online.
Q. 13 Requirements for change of appearance
in passport.
Ans. All passport Applicants have to register online.
Q. 14 Requirements for Attestation
of an Affidavit for Issue of Child's Passport.
Ans. This is required when one of the parents of the child
is staying abroad and application for issue of Indian passport
to the child in India (afresh or after deletion of the child's
name in the passport of the parent resident in India) is
being made by the other parent resident in India. The affidavit
in the prescribed proforma is required to be submitted in
duplicate along with the passport of the parent staying
abroad.
Q. 15 Requirements for Police Clearance
Certificate (PCC).
Ans. An application form for miscellaneous services duly
filled in, original passport and a photocopy
of first five and last two pages of the passport, along
with one recent passport size photograph need to be submitted.
Q. 16 Requirements for Attestation
of Documents or Power of Attorney (not related to property
matters; related to property matters; related to commercial matters e.g trade/export/
import document).
Ans. Attestation and authentication click here
Q. 17 Requirements for life certificate.
Ans. To be applied for in the "Life Certificate Application form" available at the Consulate General of India. The pensioner has to sign in the presence of the officer at the counter. In addition,
two photographs and passport in original to be submitted. This service is provided gratis to pensioners.
Q. 18 Information on trade and investment.
Ans. Please contact the Commerce and Trade section at the
Indian Consulate , email to trade@indianconsulatesydney.org
Q.19 Has Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) been approved
by Government of India?
Ans. Please refer to Overseas Citizenship
of India- click here
Q.20 Who is eligible
to apply?
Ans. A foreign national, who was eligible to become a citizen
of India on 26.01.1950 or was a citizen of India on or at
anytime after 26.01.1950 or belonged to a territory that
became part of India after 15.08.1947 and his/her children
and grand children, provided his/her country of citizenship
allows dual citizenship in some form or other under the
local laws, is eligible for registration as an Overseas
Citizen of India (OCI). Minor children of such persons are
also eligible for OCI. However, if the applicant had ever
been a citizen of Pakistan / Bangladesh / Sri Lanka / Afganistan /China/ Nepal/ Bhutan, he/she will not
be eligible for OCI.
Q21 Who is an NRI ?
Ans "Non Resident Indian" (NRI) means a person
resident outside India who is a citizen of India or is a
person of Indian origin.
Q22. Who is PIO or Person of Indian
origin ?
Ans. "Person of Indian Origin "click here
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