Q.822 Leave India after

overstaying Indian visa

Question: Thanks for creating this wonderfully information portal. I would like to know if there are any options for a American citizen minor (born there) of Indian origin (father is Indian) who is living in India from 2001 , had an tourist visa(2001to2005) converted to x visa (till 2013) after that there is an over stay for 2 years i. e 2014-15) now want to go back . pls help me in detail and what to do? [November 15, 2015] Answer: I assume by “now want to go back” you mean, leave India to go back to USA. To leave India if an individual’s visa has expired, they would normally need an exit visa. The FRRO can, generally in many cases extend some types of visas or issue an exit visa. On the subject of FRRO and overstay of visa, here is a excerpt from a document issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. *http://mha1.nic.in/pdfs/ForeigD-PwrdlgtFRROs.pdf FRROs/FROs are empowered to regularize overstay of foreign nationals and grant exit subject to no local objection, no LOC, no Court case pending due to overstay and on payment of fees/penalty. However, my understanding is that FRROs cannot overlook any visa overstay of more than three months. In such cases the decision has to be made by the Ministry of Home Affairs. If they clear it, then FRRO can issue the exit visa documents. A lot will depend on the reason of overstay. If you had some special circumstances, and since a minor is involved, perhaps you may be able to just pay a fine for the overstay. However, only the authorities can decide once they are made aware of the reasons of the prolonged overstay. Eventually you will have to contact the FRRO. If you are worried, have someone do it for you discreetly. The final decision on how to proceed has to be yours. I do hope things work out for you.