Visa Information

For tourist visa: There should be a gap of at least 2 months between two visits to India on a Tourist Visa. In case of requirement to visit the country within 2 months, permission should be sought from the Embassy of India concerned indicating specific reasons for another visit within a short period. Frequently asked questions relating to tourist visa

1.      Tourist Visa can only be granted to a foreigner who does not have a residence or occupation in India and whose sole objective of visiting India is recreation, sight seeing, casual visit to meet friends and relatives etc. No other activity is permissible on a Tourist Visa. The Tourist Visa is non-extendable and non-convertible.

2.      There shall be a gap of at least 2 months between two visits to India on a Tourist Visa. However, with a view to ensure that genuine tourists are not affected, it has been decided to enforce the following guidelines:-

I.       Some foreign nationals holding Tourist Visas, after initial entry into India , plan to visit another country largely on account of neighbourhood tourism and need to re-enter India within 60 days, before finally exiting. Such persons may be permitted up to three entries (need based) by the Indian Missions/Posts subject to their submission of a detailed itinerary and supporting documentation (ticket bookings). If the foreign national is already outside his/her country of origin, he/she can also get such an endorsement on his/her passport from the nearest Indian Mission/Post. 
 

II.      The Immigration authorities in all the Immigration Check Posts in the country may also allow such foreign nationals on Tourist Visas arriving in India without the specific authorization from the Indian Missions/Posts (as mentioned in sub-para (I) above) to make maximum three entries into the country (need based) subject to production of travel itinerary and supporting documentation (ticket bookings).
 

III.    The total period of stay in the country during the three entries permitted as mentioned in sub paras (I) & (II) above counted from the date of first entry into the country shall not exceed the stay stipulation period of 180 days or 90 days, as the case may be.
 

IV.    Once such a foreign national finally exits the country after availing the facility of three entries (within the visa validity period or the stay stipulation period of 180 days/90 days as the case may be), there shall be a gap of at least 2 months from the date of final exit before he/she can come again to the country.
 

V.     If any foreign national falling in the category as mentioned in sub-para (IV) above is required to visit India again within a period of 2 months after his/her last departure availing the facility of three entries due to any exigent situation, such foreign national should obtain special permission from the Mission/Post for a re-entry. Such re-entry within the stipulated gap of two months may be permitted by the Missions/Posts only in emergent situations like death/serious illness in the family, non-availability of connecting flights to return to his/her country of origin or travel to another country using India as a transit point or any other exigent situation which can be duly justified with proper documentation to the satisfaction of the Mission/ Post granting the permission.  The Mission/Post shall have to examine each case on merits before grant of requisite permission subject to the following conditions:-
 

i)        The applicant should furnish an undertaking on the following lines:-
 

1.        That the purpose of his/her visit is because of emergency situation.

2.        That he is not engaged in Business activities, nor in Employment or pursuing studies/research etc. in India .

 

ii.       In all such cases i.e. those covered by sub-para V above, the foreign national shall register with the FRRO/FRO concerned within 14 days of arrival.  This registration may be done with the FRRO/FRO concerned preferably at the first place of entry.  An endorsement to this effect will be made on the visa sticker.
 

The requisite permission can be granted by the Mission/Post in any country on merits of each case and subject to the conditions mentioned above. 
 

VI.     In emergent cases involving re-entry of persons of Indian origin on Tourist Visa within the 2-month period of their earlier departure from India , the FRROs/ FROs may exercise their discretion in allowing such passengers to enter the country after getting convinced of the genuineness of their visit.
 

VII.   Mission/Post endorsing the requisite permission as explained in sub paras (I) & (V) above may charge miscellaneous Consular Service fee for making the requisite endorsement.
 

3.     It may be noted that the restriction of two months gap for re-entering India does not apply to foreign nationals coming on any other type of visa and also to people of Indian origin holding PIO and OCI cards.

The Embassy of India in Brussels is pleased to introduce a new facility to meet the ever increasing demand for Indian Visa in Belgium & Luxemburg. It is our constant effort to provide greater comfort and convenience to our visa applicants. VFS Global has been officially authorized to execute the visa application processing in Belgium & Luxembourg. However, the decision to grant a visa or otherwise would continue to remain with the Embassy of India, Brussels

Effective Friday 11th December 2009, Visa applications for India shall only be accepted at the following address:-

 

Please Note- Above mentioned phone number and website will be operational for applicants effective 09th December 2009. Helpline number will be operational from 11th December 2009 for Brussels and 14th December for Antwerp and Luxemburg

“Service Fee” are as follows:-

Normal application  =    € 20.80(Bank Transfer Charges as applicable)

Emergency application* =    € 38.70 (Bank Transfer Charges as applicable)

“Service Fee” will be charged over and above the normal visa fee of the Embassy of India

“India Visa Application Centre” will provide the following services:-

. Longer Opening hours
. Facility for Online application
. Credit /Debit card payment facility with applicable charges.
. Online tracking system to know status of visa applications.

Timings for Submission of Applications and Collection of Passports

Applicants / Representatives / Travel Agents

Submission of “Normal application”                           0800  –   1400 Hrs

Submission of “emergency cases application”           0830  –   1100 Hrs- only for Brussels

 

Collection of “Normal visa application” :   

                                                                       Brussels
                                                                       1400  –  1600 Hrs- (Monday to Friday except Embassy Holiday)

                                                                       Antwerp
                                                                       1000 - 1200 hrs Tuesday
                                                                       1100 - 1200  hrs Thursday

                                                                                   
                                                                       Luxembourg
                                                                       1000 – 1200 hrs Wednesday
                                                                       1100 – 1200 hrs Friday

 

Collection of “Emergency cases”         1600   –   1630 Hrs- only for Brussels   

Call centre will be open from Monday to Friday except Embassy Holiday for below mention Hours :-
Brussels -- 0900 to 1100Hrs & 1230 – 1430 Hrs  
Antwerp –  1000 to  1200 Hrs.
Luxemburg - 1000 to 1200 Hrs.

The Visa Application Centre shall be open from Monday to Friday, except on Embassy holidays.
India Visa application centre shall accept applications for Business, Conference, Tourist, Employment, Student, Transit, Entry, Journalist, Medical, Transfer of Long term Visa.

Applications for Diplomatic and Official Visas will continue to be accepted directly at the Embassy of India, 217 Chaussee De Vleurgat - Brussel 1050 Bruxelles Belgium.

PENALTIES FOR DEFICIENCY OF SERVICES:

In order to ensure satisfactory level of service in relation to visa services of VFS centres in Belgium and Luxembourg, it has been decided to impose the following penalties to VFS for deficiency of service, on the following lines :--

i. Acceptance of wrong applications, insufficient supporting documents, invalid passports, mistakes in uploading photographs and data etc where time and resources of the Mission/post are wasted – An amount equal to the Service Fee chargeable for each visa application. (to be paid to the mission/post)

ii. Delay in handing over/dispatch of documents to the applicant – An amount equal to the Service Fee for each day of delay beyond the due date. (to be paid to the applicant)

iii. Damage to the travel document – Cost of replacement of the travel document. (to be paid to the applicant)

iv. Loss of documents – An amount equal to all the expenses involved in replacement of the document plus the fees paid by the applicant for services, if any, rendered on the document by the Mission/Post. (to be paid to the applicant)

Visa fees for various categories of visa are indicated below:

* the above is an illustrative list for applications by Belgian / Luxembourg citizens. Visa fee varies from country to country. Detailed information on the fees is available here or at the counter.

* in addition to the normal visa fee, non-Belgians/ non-Luxembourg residents not having Belgian / Luxembourg Residence Cards will have to pay an extra Euro 32 for enabling Embassy of India, Brussels to obtain clearance charges from country of residence of applicant.

Emergency Visa Services

Emergency visa service can be made available, in cases of genuine emergency such as death or serious illness of blood relatives, subject to production of proof and confirmed air ticket. Emergency visa service will not be available to applicants falling under reference categories. In such cases, the Embassy would have to refer to the country where the passport has been issued and hence the emergency visa service cannot be provided. In addition to the normal visa fee, an amount of Euro 43/- is charged for rendering the emergency service. This service is available at the Embassy counter only.

Journalist Visas

Information on visas for journalists traveling to India can be obtained here.