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Documents and formalities
Passports
Any foreign traveler to India must possess a valid passport. It is proper to carry your passport with you all the time while in India for identification requirements.
Visas
All foreign tourists to India (except nationals of Nepal and Bangladesh) must possess a valid visa. The visas are not issued after the arrival.
Contact the Indian embassy and consulate in your country for the issuance of visas. A tourist visas are of various kinds. 15-day, single or double-entry transit visas, valid for 30 days from the date of issue; three-month non-extendable multiple entry visas, valid for three months from the date of first entry into India. But the entry must be within 30 days of the date of issue of the visa, and six-month, multiple entry visas valid for six months from the date of issue of the visa. The cost of visa varies depending on your nationality.
Visa Extensions:- Only six-month tourist visas can be extended. You can try to extend your visa if you want to stay in India beyond the 180 days from the date of issue of your visa. If you have already spent the whole six months in the country it may be difficult to obtain extension. You have a better chance for it if you have been in India for less than six months. One-month extension may cost about 600 to 800 Rupees.
You are supposed to get an income tax clearance before you leave, if you stay beyond the four months of extended visa.
Visa extensions and permits for Sikkim, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep are issued by the Foreigners Registration Offices.
The main offices in the four metros are:
Bombay
Special Branch II, Annex 2, Office of the Commissioner of Police (Greater Bombay), Dadabhoy Naoroji Rd. Ph:
+91.22.2620446.
Calcutta
237 Acharya JC Bose Road Ph: +91.33.2473301
Delhi
1st floor, Hans Bhavan, Tilak Bridge. Ph: +91.11.3319489.
Madras
Shastri Bhavan Annexe, 26 Haddows Rd. Ph: +91.44.8278210.
Visas can be extended in all state and district capitals at the office of the Superintendent of Police.
Tax Clearance Certificates
Perhaps to prove that your time in India was financed with your own money and not by making money after coming to
India. You may need a tax clearance certificate to leave country if you stay more than 120 days in India.
This certificate can be obtained from the foreign section of the Income Tax Department in Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai (Madras), or Mumbai (Bombay).
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