India visa-on-arrival for tourists from 5 countries [merged]
Jan 1, 2011, 6:30 am
#16
Join Date: Nov 2009
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Jan 3, 2011, 7:45 am
#17
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Exile
Posts: 15,655
Visa-on-arrival is available for Indians quite extensively now in various parts of the world. I just used it in Istanbul last week and it was entirely painless.
Jan 3, 2011, 1:51 pm
#18
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: PDX
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Posts: 5,240
Extensively !! I thot only a few countries had this facility for Indians and I guess the figure is not more than 10 - 12.. yes, turkey started it recently but then UAE closed it I believe 1 yr back and IIRC so did Malaysia..
Jan 5, 2011, 1:12 am
#19
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Jan 5, 2011, 1:58 am
#20
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: cbr
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Depends on how you'd define "extensively".
Here's a list of countries that allow Visa on Arrival for Indian Nationals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_re...ndian_citizens
It seems of the four ASEAN countries to which India has recently made available Visa on Arrival, only Laos and Cambodia reciprocate with similar benefit for Indian Nationals.
Interestingly, none of the initial five countries (Japan, Singapore, Finland, Luxembourg and New Zealand) to which Visa on Arrival was made available in January 2010 maintain reciprocity as far as Visa on Arrival / Visa Free travel is concerned.
C.E: New Zealand allows Indian Nationals who are Australian Permanent Residents to visit or reside in New Zealand as long as their Australian Permanent Resident Visa is valid. This however is a function of the Australian Visa and is available to all Australian PR holders regardless of nationality.
Singapore allows transit visa upon producing evidence of onward flight within 96 hours and if you hold a valid resident (not necessarily Permanent Resident) visa for Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada and EU/UK and you need to have a valid visa for your destination.
(I'm not certain if this transit without a visa facility is made available while traveling to a third country i.e. not the country for which you hold a resident visa or India)
Here's a list of countries that allow Visa on Arrival for Indian Nationals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_re...ndian_citizens
It seems of the four ASEAN countries to which India has recently made available Visa on Arrival, only Laos and Cambodia reciprocate with similar benefit for Indian Nationals.
Interestingly, none of the initial five countries (Japan, Singapore, Finland, Luxembourg and New Zealand) to which Visa on Arrival was made available in January 2010 maintain reciprocity as far as Visa on Arrival / Visa Free travel is concerned.
C.E: New Zealand allows Indian Nationals who are Australian Permanent Residents to visit or reside in New Zealand as long as their Australian Permanent Resident Visa is valid. This however is a function of the Australian Visa and is available to all Australian PR holders regardless of nationality.
Singapore allows transit visa upon producing evidence of onward flight within 96 hours and if you hold a valid resident (not necessarily Permanent Resident) visa for Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada and EU/UK and you need to have a valid visa for your destination.
(I'm not certain if this transit without a visa facility is made available while traveling to a third country i.e. not the country for which you hold a resident visa or India)
Jan 5, 2011, 8:53 am
#21
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 42
India Visa-On-Arrival issues
This is not really a travel report. It's rather a report during travel.
I am currently in the lounge at IST, after a flight with TK from CPH. I'm going to BOM and since 2010-01-01 there is a special program in India to wave the visa requirements for people from certain countries.
One of those countries is the one I'm carrying a passport from, Finland.
This morning I was really early at CPH (because the train connections from Sweden has been crazy the past few weeks). I had 2.5 hours to spare when I reached. I managed to get on the flight to IST as the last passenger, running past the queues at the passport check and all the way to the gate, that closed right behind me.
When I went to check-in (I wanted to change to emergency exit seat since you can't do that with the OLCI with TK for some reason) and the check-in attendent asked me for my Visa for India. I explained to him that Finnish citizens do not need them anymore. He had never heard of such a thing. I'm guessing most Finns fly from HEL and not CPH though, so it's quite normal.
He wouldn't let me on the flight without a Visa though. He called up the supervisor who said that their papers stated that even finnish people need visas. I had to call the indian embassy in Copenhagen and they were upset and veeeeeery rude, since it was outside of normal consulary hours.
The embassy talked to the attendant but he could still not let me on. His super would not let me leave without a physical paper stating that I did not need a visa.
This was obviously available on the embassys own homepage, but it was not enough. I called the embassy again and the woman there was even more rude and said "it's not my problem that you are at the airport with a visa, it's not my problem that the airport does not understand the requirements" and so on. In the end I managed to ask her to fax a paper to the airline. I was waiting and waiting, after 20 more minutes, I called her up again (and I was awaiting another yelling, which I of course got). She promised to now rather e-mail than fax.
The super (from Novia) called up the Indian Embassy as well. In the end, there was 16 minutes left until my flight was leaving when I got the tickets in my hand at CI.
Some lessons to learn:
1) Get the VISA next time,
2) Eat breakfast in the morning before going to the airport - even though the sandwiches at Joe And The Juice at CPH is GREAT.
Sorry for posting, just had to rant. It's not every day you need to show a paper that you don't need paperwork...
I am currently in the lounge at IST, after a flight with TK from CPH. I'm going to BOM and since 2010-01-01 there is a special program in India to wave the visa requirements for people from certain countries.
One of those countries is the one I'm carrying a passport from, Finland.
This morning I was really early at CPH (because the train connections from Sweden has been crazy the past few weeks). I had 2.5 hours to spare when I reached. I managed to get on the flight to IST as the last passenger, running past the queues at the passport check and all the way to the gate, that closed right behind me.
When I went to check-in (I wanted to change to emergency exit seat since you can't do that with the OLCI with TK for some reason) and the check-in attendent asked me for my Visa for India. I explained to him that Finnish citizens do not need them anymore. He had never heard of such a thing. I'm guessing most Finns fly from HEL and not CPH though, so it's quite normal.
He wouldn't let me on the flight without a Visa though. He called up the supervisor who said that their papers stated that even finnish people need visas. I had to call the indian embassy in Copenhagen and they were upset and veeeeeery rude, since it was outside of normal consulary hours.
The embassy talked to the attendant but he could still not let me on. His super would not let me leave without a physical paper stating that I did not need a visa.
This was obviously available on the embassys own homepage, but it was not enough. I called the embassy again and the woman there was even more rude and said "it's not my problem that you are at the airport with a visa, it's not my problem that the airport does not understand the requirements" and so on. In the end I managed to ask her to fax a paper to the airline. I was waiting and waiting, after 20 more minutes, I called her up again (and I was awaiting another yelling, which I of course got). She promised to now rather e-mail than fax.
The super (from Novia) called up the Indian Embassy as well. In the end, there was 16 minutes left until my flight was leaving when I got the tickets in my hand at CI.
Some lessons to learn:
1) Get the VISA next time,
2) Eat breakfast in the morning before going to the airport - even though the sandwiches at Joe And The Juice at CPH is GREAT.
Sorry for posting, just had to rant. It's not every day you need to show a paper that you don't need paperwork...
Jan 5, 2011, 9:45 am
#22
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This is not really a travel report. It's rather a report during travel.
I am currently in the lounge at IST, after a flight with TK from CPH. I'm going to BOM and since 2010-01-01 there is a special program in India to wave the visa requirements for people from certain countries.
One of those countries is the one I'm carrying a passport from, Finland.
This morning I was really early at CPH (because the train connections from Sweden has been crazy the past few weeks). I had 2.5 hours to spare when I reached. I managed to get on the flight to IST as the last passenger, running past the queues at the passport check and all the way to the gate, that closed right behind me.
When I went to check-in (I wanted to change to emergency exit seat since you can't do that with the OLCI with TK for some reason) and the check-in attendent asked me for my Visa for India. I explained to him that Finnish citizens do not need them anymore. He had never heard of such a thing. I'm guessing most Finns fly from HEL and not CPH though, so it's quite normal.
He wouldn't let me on the flight without a Visa though. He called up the supervisor who said that their papers stated that even finnish people need visas. I had to call the indian embassy in Copenhagen and they were upset and veeeeeery rude, since it was outside of normal consulary hours.
The embassy talked to the attendant but he could still not let me on. His super would not let me leave without a physical paper stating that I did not need a visa.
This was obviously available on the embassys own homepage, but it was not enough. I called the embassy again and the woman there was even more rude and said "it's not my problem that you are at the airport with a visa, it's not my problem that the airport does not understand the requirements" and so on. In the end I managed to ask her to fax a paper to the airline. I was waiting and waiting, after 20 more minutes, I called her up again (and I was awaiting another yelling, which I of course got). She promised to now rather e-mail than fax.
The super (from Novia) called up the Indian Embassy as well. In the end, there was 16 minutes left until my flight was leaving when I got the tickets in my hand at CI.
Some lessons to learn:
1) Get the VISA next time,
2) Eat breakfast in the morning before going to the airport - even though the sandwiches at Joe And The Juice at CPH is GREAT.
Sorry for posting, just had to rant. It's not every day you need to show a paper that you don't need paperwork...
I am currently in the lounge at IST, after a flight with TK from CPH. I'm going to BOM and since 2010-01-01 there is a special program in India to wave the visa requirements for people from certain countries.
One of those countries is the one I'm carrying a passport from, Finland.
This morning I was really early at CPH (because the train connections from Sweden has been crazy the past few weeks). I had 2.5 hours to spare when I reached. I managed to get on the flight to IST as the last passenger, running past the queues at the passport check and all the way to the gate, that closed right behind me.
When I went to check-in (I wanted to change to emergency exit seat since you can't do that with the OLCI with TK for some reason) and the check-in attendent asked me for my Visa for India. I explained to him that Finnish citizens do not need them anymore. He had never heard of such a thing. I'm guessing most Finns fly from HEL and not CPH though, so it's quite normal.
He wouldn't let me on the flight without a Visa though. He called up the supervisor who said that their papers stated that even finnish people need visas. I had to call the indian embassy in Copenhagen and they were upset and veeeeeery rude, since it was outside of normal consulary hours.
The embassy talked to the attendant but he could still not let me on. His super would not let me leave without a physical paper stating that I did not need a visa.
This was obviously available on the embassys own homepage, but it was not enough. I called the embassy again and the woman there was even more rude and said "it's not my problem that you are at the airport with a visa, it's not my problem that the airport does not understand the requirements" and so on. In the end I managed to ask her to fax a paper to the airline. I was waiting and waiting, after 20 more minutes, I called her up again (and I was awaiting another yelling, which I of course got). She promised to now rather e-mail than fax.
The super (from Novia) called up the Indian Embassy as well. In the end, there was 16 minutes left until my flight was leaving when I got the tickets in my hand at CI.
Some lessons to learn:
1) Get the VISA next time,
2) Eat breakfast in the morning before going to the airport - even though the sandwiches at Joe And The Juice at CPH is GREAT.
Sorry for posting, just had to rant. It's not every day you need to show a paper that you don't need paperwork...
Jan 5, 2011, 11:00 am
#23
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Posts: 4,768
O my goat!
Jan 5, 2011, 12:45 pm
#25
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well....let me put it this way....the list does not include the countries where most indians travel to....& the few names that are included have restrictions on getting the visa....
that is not to say that indians don't travel to the countries on the list....
that is not to say that indians don't travel to the countries on the list....
Jan 5, 2011, 3:14 pm
#26
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,024
At times like this, it is useful to have a printout from timatic to refer to. You can find it on staralliance.com under Service -> Visa and probably also on oneworld.com and skyteam.com.
Next time ask the agent to look at timatic. This is definitely the airline's fault. I would be livid if this happened to me - it should be SOP to look at timatic for visa information.
Next time ask the agent to look at timatic. This is definitely the airline's fault. I would be livid if this happened to me - it should be SOP to look at timatic for visa information.
Jan 5, 2011, 4:39 pm
#27
Join Date: May 2004
Programs: BA blue, LH Senator, KQ (FB) gold
Posts: 8,215
This is a bit of a no-win situation. It is unfortunate that the Indian Embassy was rude, but the problem was really the airline's not the Embassy. If you hadn't made the flight you should have applied for denied boarding compensation under EU regulations because you did in fact have the proper documentation.
While the check-in agent may not have been helpful, they really are on very thin ground to let you on the flight, violating procedure and TK's own internal documentation. Rather than pushing for a reprimand, you should insist that TK update their documentation so that this doesn't happen again and develop a process to deal with conflicting information.
It is all very well to refer them to Timatic, but it remains a commercial source and isn't always accurate (although it is probably the best broad-based source out there).
While the check-in agent may not have been helpful, they really are on very thin ground to let you on the flight, violating procedure and TK's own internal documentation. Rather than pushing for a reprimand, you should insist that TK update their documentation so that this doesn't happen again and develop a process to deal with conflicting information.
It is all very well to refer them to Timatic, but it remains a commercial source and isn't always accurate (although it is probably the best broad-based source out there).
Jan 5, 2011, 4:50 pm
#28
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: cbr
Programs: QF WP (OWE) / LTG (LT OWS) | Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 4,972
One of the criteria used by the United States to add a country to the Visa Waiver Program is that the country's nationals should have a non-immigrant visa refusal rate of under 3%. I'm guessing the other OECD countries also use a similar criteria to extend visa waiver / visa on arrival facilities. Ofcourse political considerations and bilateral agreements come into play.
Jan 5, 2011, 5:15 pm
#29
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,024
I didn't know it's a commercial source. But if it's good enough for staralliance.com, it should be good enough for TK. Also, I am of the opinion that in the case that staralliance.com visa information is incorrect (i.e. you need a visa, but they say you don't) it's still the airline's responsibility. Now I have no example of such a case and I'm pretty sure the airline would refuse responsibility, but as a customer, I'd say it's the fault of the alliance/airline.
Jan 5, 2011, 5:46 pm
#30
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Sydney
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Posts: 2,082
According to Timatic,
A Finnish national, if not a PIO (person of Indian origin) can apply for a Visa on arrival if landing at Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai only. They must have return tickets, fee of USD$60, passport photo etc....a shame you couldn't ask the checkin agent to check Timatic!!
/ 06JAN11 / 0038 UTC
National Finland (FI) /Embarkation Denmark (DK)
Destination India (IN)
India (IN)
Passport required.
- Passport and/or passport replacing documents must be valid
on arrival.
Visa required, except for Those holding a PIO (Person of
Indian Origin) card. Note: the PIO must not be confused with
the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card (SEE NOTE 35024) .
For details, click here
NOTE 35024: Holders of the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)
card are issued with a "U" type visa.
For details, click here
Visa Issuance:
- On arrival: if required, a tourist visa can be issued to
holders of normal passports being nationals of Finland, for
a max. stay of 30 days for a single entry only (no extension
possible). Fee: USD 60.-. This facility is applicable at
the airports of Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai only.
It is required to hold:
- passport which is valid at least 6 months on arrival; and
- return/onward ticket and sufficient funds; and
- one passport size photograph; and
- re-entry permit if required by country of nationality.
The tourist visa-on-arrival shall be allowed for a max. of 2
times in a calendar year with a minimum gap of 2 months
between each visit.
National Finland (FI) /Embarkation Denmark (DK)
Destination India (IN)
India (IN)
Passport required.
- Passport and/or passport replacing documents must be valid
on arrival.
Visa required, except for Those holding a PIO (Person of
Indian Origin) card. Note: the PIO must not be confused with
the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card (SEE NOTE 35024) .
For details, click here
NOTE 35024: Holders of the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)
card are issued with a "U" type visa.
For details, click here
Visa Issuance:
- On arrival: if required, a tourist visa can be issued to
holders of normal passports being nationals of Finland, for
a max. stay of 30 days for a single entry only (no extension
possible). Fee: USD 60.-. This facility is applicable at
the airports of Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai only.
It is required to hold:
- passport which is valid at least 6 months on arrival; and
- return/onward ticket and sufficient funds; and
- one passport size photograph; and
- re-entry permit if required by country of nationality.
The tourist visa-on-arrival shall be allowed for a max. of 2
times in a calendar year with a minimum gap of 2 months
between each visit.
Last edited by kpc; Jan 5, 2011 at 5:52 pm