Travel Tip Number 2 - Passport and Visa

Wow! Time is just flying by. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, but now I must remember to get all these helpful Travel Tips out to my friends who want to travel with me.

PASSPORT -- In order to enter the country of India, first of all, your passport must be good for a minimum of 6 months or more. If you have less than 6 months left on your passport, you must apply for a new one to take with you. Please check your passport right away.

VISA -- India also requires a VISA for entry into the country. The application form is available from www.indianembassy.org . Click on the Passport/Visa button. Next scroll down to the Visa application (#2). There will be lots of instructions and another link to print the 2 page form with a 3rd page containing instructions.

Basically they request you to mail your valid passport, with 2 passport photos, the application form, and a cashier's check (no credit cards). This is mailed to the embassy in Washington, DC. Your passport with the visa laminated inside will be returned to you within 2 weeks.

COST -- For a Tourist visa, which is what we need, there are 2 choices: either a 6 month visa for the cost of $60, or a 10 year visa for the cost of $150. If you think you might enjoy travelling to India more than once, the extended visa might be what you would want. However, the 6 month is totally adequate and most people would want to visit India once before they would even know if they wanted to return.

Also there is a return mailing charge of $7.00. Don't forget to add that to your cashier's check.

LOCAL ADDRESS -- The visa application form requests a local address in India. Since we will be travelling on a tour, we use the address of our tour company. They will always know where we are at any minute in time.

KVT Travels Ltd.
805-806 Kirti Shikhar Building
District Center, Janakpuri,
New Delhi, 58, India