460. Living in India without Indian

Visa - How to rectify such

situations . . .

Questions: Dear Sir, Thanks a lot for creating this wonderful resource. I want to discuss an issue that I was born in the UK and hence have got the British passport. After 1 year of my birth, we all came to India. My british passport was retained and renewed twice; is valid for another 2 years. But the issue is that I don't have the Indian visa, and want to get the things rectified. Please suggest what should I do now. Please let me know if you require further details. Regards. Amit Mishra Answer: Thanks for the kind words regarding this website. I received two emails from you and both were sent to the wrong email ID. Please send all questions to faq@nriinformation.com and NOT to vkc@travelindiasmart. Regards to your question, you mention that you moved to India 1 year after your birth in UK, your British passport has been renewed twice and still has a validity period of two years. Considering that British passports for minors have a validity of only five years, leads me to an assumption that you may still be a minor in India. In case your parents are Indian citizens and you were born when they resided in UK, they may have failed to renew your visa in India due to perhaps ignorance of the law. In such a scenario there may be possibility of legalizing your status by approaching the FRRO and paying any fines that they might levy. Contact a lawyer who specializes in immigration case, after ascertaining all the facts, your lawyer will be able to advise the best action to take, to legalize your status in India. I do have some comments that may help some others who may be living in India without visas. How to legalize your status in India People living in India without valid visas, may avoid detection for some time, perhaps several years, however, at some point of time their status will become known to the authorities and lead to problems that will result in penalties and deportation. Whereas entering India illegally without a valid visa may be unforgivable, there may be some instances where people entered India with a valid Indian visa, failed to renew their visas and continued to stay on living in India illegally. In such cases, they may still be able to get their status legalized. While each case is different, the authorities would have to be contacted to get a persons visa status legalized. Appropriate fines, penalties etc. are decided by the FRRO and this would depend on the facts and circumstances of each case. Options to consider • Seek legal guidance from a lawyer to access their situation and approach the appropriate FRRO. • If unable to get a lawyer, contact FRRO directly • Exit India and return with valid Indian visa. This of course would be possible only if you can leave India legally. Normally when leaving India with a foreign passport, the date of entry and validity of visa is always checked by immigration authorities at point of exit.