Obtaining a visa for India

My wife, Eve, and I booked a trip to India and a pretrip visit to Sri Lanka with Overseas Adventure Travel, or OAT (Cambridge, MA; 800/493-6824), for February-March ’10. After an amount of ordinary procrastination, in early December we applied for our India visas.

I had been to India a few times before and always had no trouble getting a visa in person at the consulate in Chicago, but Travisa Outsourcing is now the company designated by the consulate to handle all India visa applications. OAT had recommended that we get our visas through PVS International, but I thought, ‘Since PVS would have to go through Travisa, too, why pay an extra $80 for two to PVS instead of going directly through Travisa?’

Together with a prepaid return envelope, we mailed our applications (provided by OAT), passports and a bank draft for $146 to Travisa Outsourcing. I called Travisa in advance and was assured that what I had prepared was correct.

After hearing nothing for far too long, in early January I went to Travisa’s webpage, used the “Track Your Passport” link and read the message “No passport received.”

I panicked. I went to the bank to see if my draft had been cashed. Although they told me drafts cannot be traced for the first 90 days, luckily they were able to trace it. The bank draft had not been returned.

I went to the post office but could not find my receipt with the tracking number. I was told, “We cannot do anything without that tracking number.”

My panic ballooned. On Travisa Outsourcing’s website, I found their phone number and called it.

“Oh, we have them right here,” said the worker about our visa applications. “You must file the application on the webpage. We have not used the application you sent in for over two years. Without the filled-out application on the webpage, we cannot do anything” (including, apparently, calling my phone number, sending me an e-mail or mailing a letter telling me that my application was incomplete).

Actually, while we were worried and upset, they were very nice.

We filled out the applications on the website, as requested, and they were assigned passwords and ID numbers. After a day or so of waiting, still nothing showed up when I checked the “Track Your Passport” link. This time I called right away.

“We have a new requirement that you must submit a copy of your driver’s license and your birth certificate,” I was told. “Without the latter, a copy of your diploma will do.”

I found my birth certificate and looked for my wife’s but found a diploma as an alternative, then mailed in the photocopies.

“Track Your Passport” still presented no results. After a few days I called again.

This time the lady told me that the rules had changed again and they now required a birth certificate. We learned it would take two to three weeks to obtain a copy of Eve’s birth certificate. We did not have that much time left. However, thank goodness, we found the birth certificate and submitted a photocopy.

In the meantime, we were notified that my passport had been sent to the consulate for the issuance of a visa and it would be returned after Eve’s had been processed.

Finally, on Jan. 29, we received an e-mail notice that both passports had been returned to Travisa and were ready for mailing.

On Feb. 1, I went back to “Track Your Passport” and saw that it said our passports still were ready for mailing.

I called on the 2nd and was told they would be sure to mail them that day. They were mailed on Feb. 3, according to an e-mail I received that day.

They came on Feb. 6. We headed to the airport on Feb. 11, eventually flying to Mumbai, India, and then Chennai, continuing to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The hassles weren’t over, however. Officials in India had recently decided that a person could enter India but once in any two-month period, regardless of his having a multiple-entry visa (which we each had).

The day before we departed, OAT told us by phone to ask the Immigration agents to not exit-stamp our passports when we left India for Sri Lanka. On exiting, we tried to have them refrain from stamping our passports, but they stamped them anyway with a warning that said only the high commissioner could waive the requirement.

Our OAT guide took the nine of us who went to Sri Lanka to two different police stations and wasted a lot of time before we finally got the required stamps to return to India.

The rest of the time, we enjoyed our trip immensely, particularly the visit to Sri Lanka. Plus, for the hassle caused by the need of a waiver of the “no reentering India for 60 days” rule, OAT credited our credit card account $400 and also allowed us a $400 credit for a future trip. We have already booked our next OAT trip (Central America).

HERBERT E. PHILLIPSON, Jr.

Dowagiac, MI

ITN mailed and e-mailed a copy of the above letter to Travisa Outsourcing (120 S. State St., Unit 3, Chicago, IL 60603; info@travisa.com) and received no reply. ITN also wrote to Overseas Adventure Travel and received the following information.

To process India visas for travelers, we do not use or recommend Travisa Outsourcing. Here is the text that we put in all visa application letters: “For your convenience, we highly recommend the services of PVS International, a visa and passport service located in Arlington, Virginia. We have selected PVS for their reliability, efficiency and personalized service… If you choose to secure your visa(s) directly from a consular office or embassy, please be advised that Overseas Adventure Travel cannot intervene, influence or act as your intermediary with a consular office or embassy.”

Regarding multiple entries into India, on Dec. 23, 2009, India instituted a new rule designed to keep people from abusing long-term tourist visas. The rule states that there should be a gap of at least two months between visits to India on the same visa.

However, travelers exiting and reentering India in order to visit neighboring countries are exempt from this rule. Tourists can get this exception by submitting an itinerary and proof of return air arrangements to the Immigration authorities when reentering India.

Therefore, if travelers are taking the optional extensions to Bhutan and/or Nepal, they must bring their final document booklet with them in case they are asked to produce these documents by Immigration. Travelers who have made their own air arrangements should also bring a copy of their air itinerary. No paperwork can be arranged in advance.

When we had the snafu on a few departures in the beginning of the year, our Trip Leaders accompanied travelers to the embassy to help them each get another Indian visa, with the cost for doing so assumed by OAT.

We believe that our regional office did a great job of keeping our Boston office apprised of the situation and that they did everything they could to make the situation as smooth as could be. If a traveler missed any of the daily activities, his or her Trip Leader did his or her best to make up for it.

We are glad that Mr. Phillipson appears happy with the compensation he received from us and that he enjoyed the trip overall.

PRISCILLA O’REILLY, Director, Public Relations, Overseas Adventure Travel