Need India Visa - Cannot Wait 5 Days In Bkk - Help!

[gabacho]

I live in Songkhla (far South of Thailand). I have a flight booked from Bangkok to Kolkata on Oct. 11. I need to get a tourist visa from the India consulate but am unable to get 5 days off from work to wait in Bangkok for the visa. I could at most, be in Bangkok for one day on any Monday, Or two days Oct. 9,10 before the flight leaves. I am a U.S. citizen with a work permit. I have been in Thailand for 5 months. Would it take 5 days for me to get a visa, or would I qualify for next day service. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions?

[cdnvic]

Post it in the visa forum. It'll get proper attention there.

[Crossy]

Unfortunately I don't think you're going to score

I've had several India visas, and they make me wait every time I'm not even sure if you can apply by post (the embassy is 5 mins from our office) may be an idea to check out their website or give them a call (they don't seem to answer emails).

To qualify for next-day you must be a Thai national or have held a WP for 3 years.

http://www.embassyofindia-bangkok.org/

Edited September 14, 2007 by Crossy

[flightcrew1]

If you hold a work permit they will process it overnight. Last summer when my parents were here they wanted to travel to Delhi to see the Taj Mahal on that Friday as Jet Airways has some great deals. Tuesday we went to the embassy and was told come back on Monday. I pleaded with the woman behind the counter and she said if I could show that I actually worked in Thailand they would process overnight because if you are Thai I beleive the process time is 24hours. The woman was quite friendly and helpfull and I practically was begging!

[gabacho]

Thanks for confirming my worst fears

I'll try the post in the visa category anyway in case someone knows of a service that can help

Unfortunately I don't think you're going to score

I've had several India visas, and they make me wait every time I'm not even sure if you can apply by post (the embassy is 5 mins from our office) may be an idea to check out their website or give them a call (they don't seem to answer emails).

To qualify for next-day you must be a Thai national or have held a WP for 3 years.

http://www.embassyofindia-bangkok.org/

[gabacho]

It sounds like they made a special exception in your case. Since I am not Thai, it doesn't soud like something I could depend on. I may not get such a helpful lady at the counter.

If you hold a work permit they will process it overnight. Last summer when my parents were here they wanted to travel to Delhi to see the Taj Mahal on that Friday as Jet Airways has some great deals. Tuesday we went to the embassy and was told come back on Monday. I pleaded with the woman behind the counter and she said if I could show that I actually worked in Thailand they would process overnight because if you are Thai I beleive the process time is 24hours. The woman was quite friendly and helpfull and I practically was begging!

[Prakanong]

It sounds like they made a special exception in your case. Since I am not Thai, it doesn't soud like something I could depend on. I may not get such a helpful lady at the counter.

If you hold a work permit they will process it overnight. Last summer when my parents were here they wanted to travel to Delhi to see the Taj Mahal on that Friday as Jet Airways has some great deals. Tuesday we went to the embassy and was told come back on Monday. I pleaded with the woman behind the counter and she said if I could show that I actually worked in Thailand they would process overnight because if you are Thai I beleive the process time is 24hours. The woman was quite friendly and helpfull and I practically was begging!

One thing I can confirm - Thai colleagues got no special treatment and did not get the 6 month visa they applied for as they had a couple of trips planned for work with me.

Had to get two visa's and took a couple od day's each - I got the 6 month multi-entry no problem but they did not

[LivinLOS]

I tried everything they would not accept any period less than 5 days..

However they do permit a person to go pick up your passport for you.. I found an agent in BKK who went and got the passport and EMS'ed it down to me so I didnt have to hang around for a week.

Some people may not be comfortable with others handling thier passport (I very much understand this) but I have a selection anyway so its not so dramatic a risk for me.

Also they informed me on the phone that I had to come in person and I could not use an agent to apply, but I have been told by someone who worked offshore from India that his company did exactly that for him every month. Might be different rules for workers or it may have been bad info on the phone (it was a bad line and the language barrier was hard to get through).

[gabacho]

An update-

In response to another post, I was informed that there was a newly opened (apparently for a month and a half) consulate of india ( I spell it with lower case letters after my experience) in the southern part of Thailand in Songkhla. After having already bought a ticket to India, relying on being able to get a visa here in Songkhla where I live, I went to the consulate here to apply for a visa. When I finally found the place and walked in, there was no receptionist behind the counter, only a couple of men lounging around who appeared to be friends of the consul. The consul himself seemed to think that it was a bit of a joke that I had any expectation that he would give me a visa (I get the impression that he is a political appointment who does not want to be bothered by actually doing a job). He told me that they had still not received the proper forms from India (after a month and a half?) so they could not issue me a visa. I questioned him about the alternatives but he seemed to know even less about the India visa regulations than I did. He suggested that I go to the passport office in Kolkata and get a visa there. I asked him if I would be allowed to leave the airport to do this and he said to "ask them". I asked if there was was any way if they could send the paperwork to the Bangkok office and receive the passport in return. I received a response that was somewhere in between no "no way" or "ask them". He seemed to know even less about India visas than I do???????

Visiting India has been a dream of mine for years and I have been planning this trip for a couple of months. It is a bitter disappointment.

[Fred Sanford]

Man this brings back memories for me. I came to BKK airport in 2002 for an onward trip to cambo, which my bro and I decided at the airport to forego in favor of a trip to Calcutta. Unfortunately we did not research the Indian visa situation prior to buy tickets at the airport. We buy tix then find out we need visa. This was not a happy time as we booked the Tai Pan Hotel near the Indian embassy thinking we could grab a quick visa the next day and be off. we find out about the 5 day wait for the visa the following day. This really annoyed us as we only had a 2 week vacation. Neither of us had spent time in BKK and were not happy that we would now be forced to. During the 5 day wait we had an outstanding time in BKK and I fell in love with the place. A BKK expat recommended that we burn the India tickets and just hang in Bangkok. We ended up doing exactly that and never looked back. I'd like to thank the Indian embassy for this 5 day policy as it enabled me to discover and move to BKK and avoid a disappointing trip to what has been described to me as an open sewer

Edited September 21, 2007 by Fred Sanford

[ovenman]

Visiting India has been a dream of mine for years and I have been planning this trip for a couple of months. It is a bitter disappointment.

Next time you are in the States, do yourself a favour and spring for a ten-year multiple-entry visa for India. You break even on the visa costs if you visit India twice in the course of the visa's ten year validity.