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109. New Indian Tourist Visa Rules
Q: Presently in northern India, I am a US citizen with 10 year tourist visa for India valid till 2012,please advise me on the following : I stayed in India for 176 days and went to Nepal on 17th Nov 2009. Entered in India on 18th Nov 2009 ( Plan to leave for US before 180 days ). Question 1 : Without exceeding 180 days and above situation do i need to register with FRRO/FRO,need exit permit etc ? Question 2 : If i decide to apply for OCI in India within few days, where will i stand with 180 days rule ? as OCI application will be in process when i will exceed 180 days, will i need FRRO registration if : OCI status granted or OCI status not granted. Also i understand i can submit OCI application in person at Delhi, do i need to give original or copies of passport ? any other info provided by you would be greatly appreciated. P Singh A. Under previous Indian tourist visa rules, tourists on five or 10-year visas were required to leave the country every 180 days. However some would simply fly to neighboring countries such as Nepal for a brief stay before returning. However this has been changed now ( I believe since early November 2009) when the two month gap between re-entry was announced. Subsequently a clarification was issued on this rule by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs. More details on this are available HERE My understanding is that according to the rules, the total period of stay in India is counted from the date of first entry into the country. If you left the country after a stay of 176 days and return after a days absence, your stay in India in my opinion would be counted as 176 + 1 and gives you only 3 additional days stay in India to compete 180 days. One cannot stay in India on the basis of a pending OCI application, A valid visa is required until OCI is granted. Original foreign passport is also normally not required with OCI application, however you will have to submit the original last Indian passport, if you ever held a Indian passport before acquiring US citizenship.
NRI - OCI - PIO Guide & Information
109. New Indian Tourist Visa
Rules
Q: Presently in northern India, I am a US citizen with 10 year tourist visa for India valid till 2012,please advise me on the following : I stayed in India for 176 days and went to Nepal on 17th Nov 2009. Entered in India on 18th Nov 2009 ( Plan to leave for US before 180 days ). Question 1 : Without exceeding 180 days and above situation do i need to register with FRRO/FRO,need exit permit etc ? Question 2 : If i decide to apply for OCI in India within few days, where will i stand with 180 days rule ? as OCI application will be in process when i will exceed 180 days, will i need FRRO registration if : OCI status granted or OCI status not granted. Also i understand i can submit OCI application in person at Delhi, do i need to give original or copies of passport ? any other info provided by you would be greatly appreciated. P Singh A. Under previous Indian tourist visa rules, tourists on five or 10-year visas were required to leave the country every 180 days. However some would simply fly to neighboring countries such as Nepal for a brief stay before returning. However this has been changed now ( I believe since early November 2009) when the two month gap between re-entry was announced. Subsequently a clarification was issued on this rule by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs. More details on this are available HERE My understanding is that according to the rules, the total period of stay in India is counted from the date of first entry into the country. If you left the country after a stay of 176 days and return after a days absence, your stay in India in my opinion would be counted as 176 + 1 and gives you only 3 additional days stay in India to compete 180 days. One cannot stay in India on the basis of a pending OCI application, A valid visa is required until OCI is granted. Original foreign passport is also normally not required with OCI application, however you will have to submit the original last Indian passport, if you ever held a Indian passport before acquiring US citizenship.
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