Indian visa required if not exiting ship?

[kremerlorraine]

Does anyone have recent experience with Costa of not requiring a visa if you do not plan to exit the ship at Indian ports of call? On a recent MSC cruise that included a stop in Cochin, we did get off the ship and had our visas, but we came across many passengers without visas because they had no intention of getting off the ship, and all they had to do was sign a waiver form at check-in.

 

I have phoned Costa and got the "company" line about needing a visa whether one exits the ship or not. It isn't a problem to get an e-visa, but it is an expense one could do without!

[Janet&Carl]

I rang the consulate because my mother had a stop in India - just one - and she did not intend to get off the ship.  She was not on Costa or MSC.  We were advised that she needed a visa.  They are very expensive  - it cost her AUD $160 because we had to do it by registered post.

 

I think the Visa lasts for a year - so if you have been recently you may not require another.

 

[Janet&Carl]

If you look online all the information about visiting India tells you that a Visa is required - and that at ports and Evisa may not be sufficient.  If you do not have the proper paperwork you could be denied boarding.  I wouldnt take that chance.

[Janet&Carl]

Lorraine - this is information I have found from the UK - it is 3 years old now but I don't think anything has changed.  At least not as far as any information I have been able to find.  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/india/articles/visa-for-a-cruise-to-india/

 

My friends travelled on MSC past India last year and they still needed visa's.  They decided on the full Visa and went back and did a land tour to spread the cost across two holidays lol. 

 

It seems as though India is chaotic about Visa's  both in the information given to cruise companies, visitors and their staff at the ports-  there is lots of different information given to cruise companies and by them to the passengers.  I suppose that people coming from different countries have different rules so it would get confusing.  I had been reading about this online before we booked the 21 day cruise and decided to have the extra week in Italy at the start of the cruise and not 28 day cruise  that finished in India at the end -  So my thoughts were from pages of reading ..... if have more than one entry get a full Visa anything else could be too risky.

[Sekhmet]

As others have said, Indian visa information can be very confusing and contradictory.  We are in the process of applying with respect to a cruise next year.  We fly into Mumbai, embark, visit two ports in India, then leave for the Maldives, return to two more ports in India before flying home from Mumbai.

 

So, you might like to look at https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html to start with.  I then emailed  indiatvoa@gov.in  for some clarification, and was referred to the Bureau of Immigration, support-boi@mha.gov.in which gave me the most useful answers.

 

Photographs might also be worth a mention.  We haven't investigated this as yet, but for our previous visa applications a few years back, the requirements differ from those for a passport (a UK one, I should add).  The dimensions are not the same, and if I remember correctly, they have to be square rather than rectangular.

 

Hope this helps, I'll be following the thread to help with our application.

[kremerlorraine]

Thanks, all. We've been through the Indian visa process several times and we have a multiple entry paper visa still valid for our Victoria trip in October/November. My query related to another cruise next March which has a stop in New Mangalore.

 

You're so right about the confusing and contradictory advice, including from the cruise lines. As I said, last year on MSC many people didn't bother with a visa and they were allowed on without a problem. I'm not so sure what Costa's approach would be, so I guess we are resigned to getting the marginally cheaper e-visas. The official Indian government website says they are accepted at New Mangalore.