Same-day turn to India?
 

I know this borderlines insane, but I had a large credit on CO I had to use or lose by the end of April, my wife is out of town for the weekend, so I'm doing a same-day turn to DEL. Fortunately, I was upgraded for the return. I did get a visa since I'm going back in about a month for a proper visit.

My question is, does anybody have any experience they can share having done this to help minimize any hassles I might run into? I've read a couple of related threads, but they were a few years ago. Thanks for anything you can share to help.

Regarding the visa you probably already know but there is a restriction on re-entering India on a visa within two months.

If you intend to re-enter you need permission to do so and a special permit (which comes at a fee and must be arranged through the consulate or possible via a visa service who will do it through the consulate).

I believe the Indian authorities are looking at making these rules simpler, but there have been reports of airlines refusing carriage on the basis that return travel is within the 60 day limit.

So the advice could be that if you can manage without using the visa (for example stay in transit) then that might be preferable and save you time later.

(I'll be more than happy to be proven wrong if the visa situation has changed in the last couple of weeks! :) )

Does this depend on the visa type? I did several weekends away from India (one to Dubai and one back to the US for 2 nights) and had no issues. However, I was on a business visa.

Good point, try to stay in transit if at all possible (just follow the signs to International Connections/Transfers).

Here is A_Lee's experience with a turnaround in BOM, though:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milea...l#post12996055

In general, avoid talking to any security staff or they may give you a "wrong" answer and tell you to clear immigration first...

Yes. My apologies. It applies to tourist visas.

Yes, it only applies to Tourist visas.

this is very important for the op to note....he will not be allowed back into the country easily if he plans on coming back a month later....

Thanks for the heads up on this to all of you. As Mr. Bean suggested, any chance of staying "in transit" and not actually entering the country on this first trip? If so, can you give me any specifics? Thanks again.

The areas for transit pax are clearly marked. Follow the signs.
There are not many facilities in this area....no fancy lounges, etc.

The trick is to get someone to print you a CO boarding pass. Someone with experience can tell how to do it. Its not impossible, just a little tricky.

I had a friend that did an unintentional turn ORD-LHR-BLR. At immigration, turns out he didn't bother to get a visa because he didn't think he needed one (British citizen living in the US). They put him on a flight 2 hours later back to LHR and he spent the next couple of days trying to get a visa there.

Of course I had to give him grief that it was the second time that India ran a Brit out of the country.

hilarious....:D

guess u hv already ticketed as u hv already been upgraded on the return leg.. but IMHO, it would be much better to visit some other country other than India.. ur reasons for same day return will also be suspicious to the immi folks and I am not too sure u can straightaway go to transit and then check-in ( though hv some seen some other threads but they had confirmed tickets on 2 diff airlines on diff itineraries atleast )from there for the return leg.. ( as ur scenario would be very rare if at all happenning )..
the indian tourist visa law.. ppl may v their own views on tht.. but its a fact and its also a fact tht many folks hv mis-used the tourist visa for other purposes...

I appreciate your feedback, and concerns. Do you have any experience in this scenario to support them. I have received a great deal of feedback in a couple different forums, and most seem to think I shouldn't have any problems staying "in transit". Getting my BP could be interesting, but the general consensus seems to be that, again, I shouldn't have too much trouble. If you have any specifics that could help, I'd love to hear them.

See.. u shd not have a problem is what I also feel BUT its u should not u will not..
See the thing is ur scenario is pretty rare wherein u will b travelling more than 15 hrs and then return the same day without going even out of transit. No One I have heard of has ever done that and am sure they wil question this just because presently they r lookng at any kind of irregular behaviour in the airports with all this security stuff...
and frankly even I wonder why u wd wanna take this trip.. isnt it worth going to some other place which has a shorter flying time but going on a higher class or spending 5-6 hrs in the place u going, which is possible if u take a flight say of 8 hrs instead of 15+...

Well that's certainly beside the point of the thread isn't it, but still a valid question. I did look at several different flights vs EQM/RDM (21K/42K) earned, and this was easily the best value. Now, I don't have a problem with the duration like some do, so that's not really an issue for me. And as I mentioned before, since I am going back for a proper visit in a month, I have no desire to spend 5-6 hours on this trip. After all, it is simply a MR ;)