I’m a freelancer and have a last minute job request in India (just over 2 weeks from now).
My research shows that the Indian E-Business Visa (which is a simple online application) may not properly cover my visit. Several articles online recommend getting the proper business visa stuck inside my US passport.
Apparently there are no places nearby that I can get an Indian visa without ARC or residence (i.e. Thailand) so I’ll have to send my passport to New York for the visa and have it sent back before travel. Seems there is just barely enough time to do it.
Questions…
This is ridiculous right?
Is there no other way to get a physical business visa for India?
What kind of delays or issues might I face with customs / FedEx?
Obviously I want to make sure I get my passport back in time for travel to India. But my biggest concern is if they lose my package/passport because I need to make a visa-run first week of December. And AIT’s website says it takes 3-4 weeks to process a passport renewals/replacements.
The whole idea of sending your passport outside the country you’re in seems sketchy and ill-advised to me. Anyone with some experience dealing with this?
I have been to India several times on both tourist/e-tourist visas, E-business and business visa’s.
They are constantly changing the requirements and conditions of the E-Visa but as far as I am aware as long as you do not need to stay for more than 60 days and are not getting paid vast amounts of Rupees an E-business visa should be fine. However I am sure you will have researched this better, as most of the info stated online is very vague and I am not sure of the nature of your work/compensation.
From my experience applying for a physical business visa is not as simple as the E-Visa. The last time I applied for a 6-month multiple entry business visa. I had all the invitation letters, business cards, reasons for travel, however was after 1 week informed that I must come to the Taipei office for an interview. Basically they just wanted to meet me and grill me about why I had been to India so many times before, what I was doing, how I get paid etc… Another few days later, they say my visa had been granted but instead only issued a 1 month single entry visa. This was from the date of issue, not entry, so I had to cut my trip short, and the next time I visited I applied for an e-business visa and was granted one no problem within 24 hours.
About 5 years earlier applying from Europe for a 6-month visitor visa with reason internship, it was meant to take 3-4 days but in the end took a lot longer as the embassy was requesting an authenticated certificate of incorporation of the company in India (wasn’t listed in requirements at time of app), which took forever on their end to get.
Otherwise, talk with some travel agents in Taiwan about applying for Indian Visa without ARC, perhaps they have a way. Seems a bit ridiculous you can’t apply in Taiwan but sometimes that is just the way it is.
My concern is not about FedEx, they are reliable if you pay a pretty penny, but rather if you send your passport to New York, and there they have more questions or delays processing your visa. Indian bureacracy is horrendously slow. Good luck it is always an enlightening adventure getting anything done in or related to business in India.
Thanks for your reply. It actually makes me reconsider the E-Business Visa.
The job is a one-off private event. I am artist support for a mid-level performing artist contracted through an entertainment company in NYC (which was sub-contracted through an event planning company in NYC). No rupees will be changing hands in a technical sense.
For me the risk of the E-Visa is that somehow I get turned away and cannot do my job.
Yes considering it is only a one-off event and you won’t be leaving the country with a suitcase of cash, I would consider the E-business visa.
Just make sure you have an official invitation letter from a legit company in India including their CIN or tax number. I believe they might raise an eye if it is an foreign company inviting you, unless they are also registered in India.
Have you tried contacting these guys, http://www.india.org.tw/index.aspx ? That’s where I got my last business visa to India processed.
Pretty sure I can get this letter from a local vendor, so this does seem like the most logical scenario.
Thanks.
Haven’t contacted them, but it states clearly on the website that they only process visas for “Taiwanese with valid ID Card or Foreign Residents in Taiwan with 6 months valid ARC (Alien Residence Certificate) upon visa submission”
Facing the choices you have it certainly seems advisable to contact with them and ask if they can help.
In the end the freelance job fell through anyway, which was a bit of a relief given the complicated visa problem. But I did find some good information on the E-Business Vsa and definition of “casual business visits” for anyone in this situation in the future.