bedelman

Planning travel to India. I understand India's e-visa system to yield a full-page sticker-style visa that gets affixed to an empty page in a passport... except I have no empty pages.

Anyone have experience with this?

I have three prior India visas, all expired. Would it be proper for the new visa to cover one of these?

I have an expired/used full page stamp-style visa for another country. Don't need it for anything. Would happily let India cover that.

The endorsement pages are also (slightly) used, at least one stamp of some sort in each. So those aren't options.

There are other candidate pages -- the first few with "important information regarding your passport", the back page (before inside back cover). All quite nontraditional places for a visa.

I just barely have time to get a new passport, of course with extra trouble and expedite expense. Suspect that's required. But if anyone sees another way... I'd very much appreciate smart suggestions.

Doc Savage

The safest path is to get the new passport ASAP. Given the "bureaucracy-mindedness" of Indian civil servants, I think you'd have a very high chance of them not putting a visa in your old passport, and then you're stuck without enough time to get a new passport and visa.

Safe travels!

bedelman

Thanks, Doc. Certainly that is the conservative advice and perhaps the wise advice.

Just to be clear, as I understand it, the India e-visa stamp is affixed to the passport in person at the airport upon arrival. So the "bureaucracy-minded" civil servant would have to look me in the eye, turn me away from entering the country, and send me back from whence I came. Not saying he wouldn't do that -- and shame on me to get there with that problem when the e-visa online process plainly requires affirming that I have two empty passport pages. But one might hope he'd try to find some way to help me. Penalty is so harsh -- visit canceled, trip in vain, all for lack of a blank piece of paper.

Rather different, I think, than a consulate in the US that can more readily decline to issue a visa.

One hears of South Africa being harsh in this regard. I haven't seen online reports of India being similarly strict. Not saying I want to be the first to report it.

GenevaFlyer

I wouldn't risk it. My brother-in-law was recently almost turned away from the UAE as he didn't have much space left to stamp his passport (let alone placing a full page visa in there ).

Cheers,

GenevaFlyer

Doc Savage

If your pages are that full, you'll need to get a new passport soon anyway, so the "cost" is something you'll have anyway except for the expediting fee. A calculated gamble with a big downside if you lose.

Let us know how it turns out.


四川花園

bedelman

Absolutely agreed that I need a new passport anyway. Incremental cost is the expedite fee plus time in person doing the expedite -- or expedite fee plus passport service to handle the details for me.

Productivity

Wouldn't chance it. Indian officials didn't strike me as particularly lenient when I was last there, lots of detail checking.

B747-437B

You WILL be turned around and sent home if there is no space in your passport to affix the visa sticker.

You also potentially (though unlikely) face prosecution and/or a ban from travel to India for making a false statement in the application that you had the required empty pages available.

Also keep in mind that if you get a new passport issued (as opposed to additional pages), you will need to reapply for the visa online as the previously approved eVisa is linked to the passport number.

ajeleonard

If you even got that far, more likely you won't be allowed to check in for the flight.

The advice to get a new passport isn't "conservative" it's absolutely 100% necessary

Steve M

Ask yourself this question: If you hope to not have this rule enforced upon you upon arrival, under what, other circumstance do you suppose it was intended for and would be enforced?

RooseveltL

Don't risk it - after an experience in Vietnam passport office - arriving into India with the American "I have a right or entitled" doesn't always work in the real world. You might be able to get away with slipping him some coffee money but really long flight/journey to waste 4-5 hrs of time if they decide to make an example of you.

Suck it up, send for a new passport (as US Govt doesn't add extra pages anymore).

SAN_Finn

Strongly suggest a new passport also but if its simply not possible I've once peeled off an old visa (I think it was an Indonesian visa) to get an empty page. Worked fine but YMMW.

Aventine

I've done this before too. Southeast Asian visas seem to peel off quire easily

milepig

When I was getting my Indian visa in Chicago they were looking for every reason to turn people away. I see no reason to think they'd be any more lenient with the e-visa. But as others have said, I don't think you'd get on the plane so we'll never know.

bd24133

I am a dual citizen. My US passport was full. I went to the Indian embassy and had an Indian visa placed in my other passport. The embassy (in NY) knew this and were obviously ok w that. Long story short, I was deported back to Dubai (where I connected). If you want the long version so I can tell you what to do when you are deported let me know.