transit through Doha and Delhi without Indian visa
 

Hi everyone!

I was planning to travel to India for a week, but the embassy is sitting over it (even though I've went there before; maybe it's the Christmas rush) and the flight's due in a couple of days: so if I don't get it I am planning to use my existing tickets and go from Delhi to Nepal (where I can go visa-free) using a flight. My question is that since I am changing my flight at Doha for Delhi, will they allow me to board the Doha-Delhi flight since I won't have an Indian visa?

Thanks for any info about the same. I don't want to do cancellations at this last minute, since my heart is set on travelling.

Are you ticketed through from Doha to Kathmandu on one ticket or is it separate tickets?
If the former, you can (as far as I know from recent info) transit Delhi without a visa if you don't leave the airport and connection time is less than 12 hours.
So they should let you board in Doha.

If the latter case - I don't know.

Thanks, mandolino! It is the latter case, and separate airlines as well. Of course, I won't be leaving the airport, I don't have any check-in baggage, and the connection time is less than 12 hours.

You don't need a visa if in transit - though I believe there is a limit to the transit time (12 hrs?). They can even recheck bags for you. I'd have them make a not in the PNR of both reservations that you are a transit passenger and connecting to flight xxx. I would also make a printout of the visa information in timatic - google and you'll find it.

And also print out all your itins, and if possible checkin online for the onward flight and print your BPs.

Immigration officials won't care whether it's one airline or two. Obviously have all of your printouts/BP's with you in Doha.

I've done the DEL transit to KTM thing. There is a relatively inexpensive hotel directly in the transit area of the airport if you want to grab a shower and a few hours of sleep. IIRC, that place is busy all night long so just sleeping in a chair might be tough.

When I've gotten a simple India tourist visa in the past, they were very quick on the turnaround - faster than their posted SLA's by quite a bit. (U.S. passport at an Indian consulate in the U.S.) The passport was only out of my hands for something like 4-5 business days total. Not sure what country you're in or what citizenship you hold, but I wonder if the current (minor) diplomatic tiff between the U.S. and India is causing a bit of "bureaucratic delay" processing each other's documents... ;)

It's a bit more than minor. I've never seen the IFS this unhappy in my life. There's more to this issue than meets the eye.

And yes, New York consulate has a variety of functions on hold right now. Delays in visa processing would not surprise me.

Thanks a lot, everyone! I never knew some of the things, like timatic. Thankfully, I got my visa to India just at the last moment, so hopefully I can now travel to India. I hope they let me transit via Doha, as again the two different airlines story ... I've got all the itineraries printed though, but not the boarding passes.

No, I'm not an American national, but a Chinese one: it was just some Christmas rush that led to the delay, as I understand.