Q706. Overstay of tourist visa in India

Question: Respected Sir,

I had to urgently travel to India and had to get a new passport for my

5 year old daughter however did not have sufficient time to get her a

new OCI (she had an OCI before).

I had to get her a e-tourist visa. and ended up overstaying

unfortunately. I have a valid OCI but my daughter has now overstayed

by about 4 weeks. Can you please advise what my options are?

Many thanks for your help.

Regards,

Sarbjit Kaur

[November 23, 2015]

Answer: Since your daughter already had OCI she did not actually need a e-tourist visa. I doubt if you would have had any problems at entry point in India, if you were unable to obtain fresh OCI documents for your daughter, due to shortage of time. In cases of emergency the OCI booklet and expired passport would have probably sufficed as proof of OCI status. Regarding what options you have: 1. When leaving India, immigration officer might notice that your daughter entered India on the basis of e-tourist visa and there is an overstay of 4 weeks. You may be able to explain the circumstance. How things turn out would depend on the official who you have to deal with. 2. You could go to the FRRO office as soon as possible and get visa extension or exit permit. The most that I think can happen here would be a small fine for overstay, if you explain the circumstances.