webfact Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 India launches new visa rules to boost tourism(BBC) Tourists from the US, Australia, Brazil, Germany and Japan are now able to get visas on arrival in India after its limited scheme was extended.Visitors from 43 countries no longer have to queue up at local consulates, but can instead apply for their visas online and collect them at airports.The country received 6.58 million tourists in 2012, far fewer than Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia.Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said the change would be boost to the industry.The scheme was "a dream come true for the entire tourism industry of India and is bound to positively impact the economy," he said in a statement.Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-30241487-- BBC 2014-11-28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marioc Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 It was about time! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gopis108 Posted November 28, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted November 28, 2014 The Indian Imm.conveniently leaves out the fact that the 30 day visa will still cost 61 US Dollars.That will be the frosty friday when I will shell out $61 just to visit that rathole for 30 days. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colabamumbai Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 They stopped allowing back to back visas, costing many foreigners their businesses in India. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sippysaltandpepper Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Sounds like it will be a hog pile at the airport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overandout Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 "Britain, India's former colonial master, is not included on the new list." Way to hold a grudge guys! Last time, I applied for and paid for a 12 month multiple entry visa, and received.... a single entry visa valid for 3 months!!! It's just a money printing scheme for the Indian Embassy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfokevin Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 The Indian Imm.conveniently leaves out the fact that the 30 day visa will still cost 61 US Dollars.That will be the frosty friday when I will shell out $61 just to visit that rathole for 30 days. The high fee is to limit it to only quality tourist... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glassdude007 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) They stopped allowing back to back visas, costing many foreigners their businesses in India. I have worked offshore of India in the past, until they stopped issuing Business visa's from Bangkok. Was told to get a Business visa I was required to get it from the closest Indian consul/embassy from my home in my home country. For me that meant a trip from Bangkok to New York to just apply for the visa No guarantee's of approval. Worked out good for me, because of this requirement I have had No more trips to India in recent years, what a crap hole stinking armpit of a place... Edited November 28, 2014 by glassdude007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrry Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 They stopped allowing back to back visas, costing many foreigners their businesses in India. They made all the Commonwealth people who had homes and businesses there leave 12 months after Mrs Ghandi was shot. Since then I have never trusted anywhere. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jethro69 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 As far I remember I have Visa exemption for 15 or 30 days, there's still nothing what would bring me into this shxxhole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devaram Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Worthless publicity stunt since the india visa on arrival is good only for 30 days and most likely cannot be extended! Who the hell goes to India for 30 days? It takes that long just to settle in and get used to it. They are obviously not interested in backpackers and spiritual seekers who need the full six. Now they will cry to Obama " you please reciprocate and give us visa on arrival to usa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 The Indian Imm.conveniently leaves out the fact that the 30 day visa will still cost 61 US Dollars.That will be the frosty friday when I will shell out $61 just to visit that rathole for 30 days. The high fee is to limit it to only quality tourist... "Quality tourists" have no interest in India. They head for places like Tahiti or the South of France. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diablo Bob Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 The Indian Imm.conveniently leaves out the fact that the 30 day visa will still cost 61 US Dollars.That will be the frosty friday when I will shell out $61 just to visit that rathole for 30 days.The high fee is to limit it to only quality tourist..."Quality tourists" have no interest in India. They head for places like Tahiti or the South of France.How about Bermuda? When I worked there 20 years ago the cheapest hotel room was $150/night. Dinner for 2 started at $100+alcohol. Great place, quality tourist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chao Lao Beach Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I agree with the post that have shixhole in the post. Sri Lanka is so much more welcoming in that part of the world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lubbkis Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 In 1994 I got a tourist visa for India into my British Passport at their High Commission in Hong Kong, where I was domiciled at the time. The High Commission clerk smudged the stamp and clarified the date with his pen. On attempting to enter at Mumbai I was asked why *I* had changed the date. I explained that the person in the High Commission had made the clarification. I was detained for over an hour whilst my passport was unceremoniously chucked around the office. When I noticed the flight crew for my airline proceeding back towards the aircraft I asked the Immigration Officer if I should ask the airline to take me back to my origin. Only then was I admitted to India. It will be a cold day in hell before I spend another tourist dollar in that country. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipperylobster Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 LOL.. Look at all you guys putting down poor little India.... Thailand looks like a 1st world country next to them...eh? Singing a different tune, eh? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiesilver Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Ive always wanted to go to India and hear so many great things about it. But strangely enough all the expats, or is that sexpats sing a different tune? why? is it really that crap? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MILT Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) Ive always wanted to go to India and hear so many great things about it. But strangely enough all the expats, or is that sexpats sing a different tune? why? is it really that crap? ....actually once you leave any of the "city chaos" India is "pretty, pretty, pretty awesome! Depends on the time of year one goes of course but all in all it's very awesome! If you are a numbskull and not a seasoned traveler India can be quite extreme on the senses. In a nut shell "India is where the other half lives"....... Edited November 28, 2014 by MILT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerbalEd Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 "Britain, India's former colonial master, is not included on the new list." Way to hold a grudge guys! Last time, I applied for and paid for a 12 month multiple entry visa, and received.... a single entry visa valid for 3 months!!! It's just a money printing scheme for the Indian Embassy. Yeah ... get over the colonial master thing. They only ruled over you for 450 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabhand Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 This visa, apart from being expensive, is only available for two trips in a calendar year with no extension possible. https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa.html They are making a big play on indicating it's availability to 43 countries. But, looking at the list, half of them are countries that either are small pacific islands or have limited external tourist numbers. If they are expecting a huge increase in tourist numbers, I have my doubts.... They make things as difficult as possible for those wishing to visit the country, both tourists and business related. I have been travelling to India, on business, for the last twelve years after working there fulltime for the previous three years. Obtaining a business visa outside of my home country has proved difficult, but not impossible . Up to about a year or so back was able to get 12mth multi entries, then, early this year, restricted to 6mth multi entry. Next application was told - only 3mth single entry! Had to really plead my case for a better deal and they eventually relented and gave me a 6mth multi. All business visas, no matter the duration, are the same cost...........! Not to mention having to complete their online application form, which takes an age to answer, with questions that sum up completely the Indian way of working!! If not for business, wild horses would not drag me there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKY Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Sounds like it will be a hog pile at the airport.With its 6.58 m, its already a nightmare for queing at arrival and now imagine if the number of tourists increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copa8 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 LOL.. Look at all you guys putting down poor little India.... Thailand looks like a 1st world country next to them...eh? Singing a different tune, eh? Definitely take Thailand over India any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lissos Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 But strangely enough all the expats, or is that sexpats sing a different tune? why? is it really that crap? It is probably over familiarity. It tends to breed contempt, as we all know. Myself, I probably spent over a year and half of my life in India in total, on several visits since the late 90s (haven't been back in over a decade though) for months on end. It can be a very 'affecting' place, and some very formative experiences happened for me there. I recognise how awesome it all was, but like anywhere there is that honeymoon phase then the bewliderment phase then typically the negative phase where you find yourself asking yourself quite often why you are choosing to put up with all the discomfort, lack of cleanliness, lack of honesty and downright incompetence. On early visits, all that is taken in your stride because the positives of how wacky and strange it is, far outweigh the negatives. Eventually the dark underbelly tends to dominate perception. For me, I ceased visiting not as a conscious sudden decision or a single event, but tolerance slowly dwindled and interest faded. First time visitors are still going to be wowed and overwhelmed by it all, as every new visitor is. It is a rollercoaster ride, but ride it for too long and the nausea starts to set in. I believe this explains why people end up spending more time moaning about both India and Thailand, more than praising them. It is natural, once the honeymoon phase wears off and little things began to truly irritate. As for the visa situation, India has been playing a weird game for years now with its experiments, just as Thailand has been with various crackdowns. Historically, I would say India has long been one of the most generous ones out there in terms of the - 'visa cost and visa duration' equasion. Even after all the silly experiments in recent years, it probably still is one of the most generous but the way these were introduced and the logic behind it all puzzles many people. However, it was quite transparent when India hiked up the tourist visa fee big time for Brits after the British Goverment began cracking down on all those UK student visas being issued to Indians who were doing anything 'but' studying once here, but that's how the visa tit for tat generally works. It is their country and they can do what they like, but it was bound to cause resentment in Britain when the fee for most other European states remained about half the price. Long stay visitors to India can absorb the higher fee, but not the average UK family on a two weeker to Goa. Instead, they'll go to a Greek island for far less money overall for the flight and no entrance beaucracy to have to put up with. I could get around the sting on Brits as I have a second passport, but various things put me off returning. India is often hard work in all sorts of ways. I was in my 20s when I first started travelling there. Now I'm less inclined to put up with unnescessary discomfort and hassle (including far higher tourist visa fees) when I can simply go somewhere that doesn't have it. I say that of course from the luxury of having made the best out of my visits there. For new visitors I can understand why they'd take the higher visa costs on the chin and put up with the discomfort and other factors that I tired of. What I'm trying to say is, I wouldn't let the jaded view of long term visitors put you off going. Ignorance is bliss, and it is certainly worth visiting. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidermike007 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 LOL.. Look at all you guys putting down poor little India.... Thailand looks like a 1st world country next to them...eh? Singing a different tune, eh? Yes, as a matter of fact, it does. India will never be able to match Thailand for cleanliness, sanitary conditions, lack of disease, variety of food, fresh fruit that can actually be eaten without causing massive diarrhea, and overall friendliness of the people. Having said that, I seem to be one of the few people on this forum who actually like India. I like the Indian people very much. They are smart, creative, industrious, sincere, and clever. And of course their english skills are the envy of Thailand. But, the infrastructure, highways, and much more is far superior in Thailand. Except of course for the railroads, which in India are far better than Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrry Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Ive always wanted to go to India and hear so many great things about it. But strangely enough all the expats, or is that sexpats sing a different tune? why? is it really that crap? No. But do not expect things to always go your way and be prepared to make the most of what often turns out to be a good situation. Also do not be frightened of mixing with the locals. You will not be able to cocoon yourself there like you can in many places. Thugee ended years ago (or possibly moved to Thailand) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrry Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 The Indian Imm.conveniently leaves out the fact that the 30 day visa will still cost 61 US Dollars.That will be the frosty friday when I will shell out $61 just to visit that rathole for 30 days. The high fee is to limit it to only quality tourist... "Quality tourists" have no interest in India. They head for places like Tahiti or the South of France. The Tal Mahal and the Palaces of Rahjastan and the hill stations have been the Meccas of quality tourists for centuries. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lissos Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 I like the Indian people very much. They are smart, creative, industrious, sincere, and clever. Often true, but I guess it also depends on the context in which someone is travelling there. It is a cliche that heads every guide book on the place, but India stands out as a country of major extremes. Along with extremes of wealth and poverty all thrown in together, it also applies to the range of people that the average foreign visitor is going to have to deal with on a daily basis. It can apply to other countries too, but India takes the biscuit (imo) for that. It is a constant flip flop throughout the day between great folk and absolute scum who would gladly sell their own grandmother for a paisa. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveAustin Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 They would have to pay for my flight and hotel and move out the entire population and garbage before I'd consider a visit. Thailand has it's problems, but jeez, I'd sooner visit the arse end of Uranus in winter! As an aside, I find it pukeworthy that Brits are made to acquire a visa. What's the donation level at last count, 3 billion dollars? And this to a country with not only nuclear capability but a bleedin space program!!! How easy is it for Indians to roll into UK and scrounge off the state? Stunning countryside far north, no doubt, BUT... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themechanic Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 (edited) I am an Indian who has moved to Thailand. Don't go. India really does suck. It is horrible in almost every way imaginable. Thailand is paradise, practically first world in comparison. If you do go, explore the north-east. The state of Sikkim in particular. Pleasant weather, clean, educated and civilized/polite populace and **gasp** uninterrupted electric and water supply (a rarity outside major cities in India). I lived there for 8 months. Doesn't feel like the rest of India. And you won't see a single other western tourist. North east India is predominantly Buddhist, animist and Christian. Not many Hindus. Sikkim in Buddhist. If it's Hindu culture that interests you, land in Delhi in the middle of the night (day time is too disgusting and grotesque, the traffic, the crowds etc.) and take an SUV to Rishikesh. That is a beautiful town, and the culture and cuisine are all authentic to this day. There are tourists, but it's nowhere nearly as horribly overcrowded, commercialized and filthy as that stinking armpit Benaras (Varanasi). Feel free to ask me anything else about India. Edited December 1, 2014 by themechanic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexterm Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I have a love hate relationship with India. I always love to return there..so vibrant, interesting history and culture, delicious food (especially in south) and the Himalayas are magnificent. But I'm always happy to leave there after all the hassles have worn me out. Been there many times from Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari at the southern tip..loved it, but it's hard work at times. Haven't been for a couple of years now. Visa was too much hassle. But now this new 30 day visa will suit me fine. I can see myself heading off on a cheapie flight to Delhi every September now to recharge the batteries trekking in the mountains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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