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Passport, visa and money mattersIf you choose to build your own India trip with our bite-sized tours or try one of our India itineraries, our friendly travel specialists will give you advice about the application procedure as the tourist visa process for India can be a little tricky.To apply for a visa, you'll need a passport with a minimum of 6 months’ validity, 2 passport photos, and the completed visa application form which can be downloaded from: http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk/online-app.aspx We try to be accurate with the advice that we offer, but the Indian High Commission can change the process at any time without notification. It's always best to check the latest instructions direct with your nearest India High Commission/Visa Application Centre. Tourist Visa - £30 (extra fees are applicable eg.special delivery). |
Visa application centresThe Indian High Commission in London have now outsourced their Visa Application Service to the addresses below:London Birmingham • India Visa Application Centre • India Visa Application Centre 60-62 Wilton Road, 20 - 21 Pemberton Street Victoria, London, SW1V 1DE. Birmingham B18 6NY • India Visa Application Centre 142-148 Goswell Road, London EC1V 7DU. Edinburgh • India Visa Application Centre 66 Handover Buildings Rose Street, Edinburgh EH2 2NN |
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Visa application tips• If there is a compulsory field on the application form that does not apply to you then please put ‘NA’ (not applicable). For example, you will only have referees in India if you have friends, or relatives in India, or perhaps an employer in India who is sponsoring you. |
MoneyThere is no limit to the amount of money or travellers’ cheques that you can bring into India. Cash of cheques up to a value of US $5000 do not need to be declared. Tourists are advised to exchange notes and cheques only at banks or official exchange offices. You should also keep the receipts because you'll need them to change any leftover money back when you are leaving the country. However, Indian currency may not be imported or exported, so you cannot bring Rupees (INR) into India when you arrive. You can take GB pounds, Euros and Travellers’ Cheques in sterling, and you'll have no problem having any of these changed in India. |
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ATMs In larger cities, you'll find that will take most international bank cards. Don’t accept any torn bank notes if you are given them as change, as most Indians will not accept them as payment, so you'll be consistently refused. This applies to Rupees (INR or Rs), Euros or GBP notes, and you can exchange any damaged Rs notes in banks. In India we calculated the exchange rate as follows (approximately): £1 = 82Rs, or 100Rs = £1.20. The exchange rate is naturally subject to change. Bank opening times Opening times vary from region to region. Banks: 10am to 2pm (Mon-Fri) and 10am -12 noon on Saturday. Otherwise most hotels can exchange money for you. Post offices: 10am-5pm (Mon-Fri), and Saturday morning. Offices: 9.30am -5.30pm (Mon-Fri) and 9.30am- 1pm on Saturday. Coins and notes There are 1, 2 and 5 Rs coins and there are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Rs bank notes. Departure tax Passengers travelling to a destination outside India will pay a departure tax of Rs.500. Those travelling to Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka or the Maldives will pay Rs.150. |
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Language In India there are lots of different languages spoken. Hindi is the language most often used, but English is spoken widely as well and is the official language. But there are literally hundreds of other languages spoken in India. Time difference The time difference with India is 5½ hours (later than in the UK) in the summer time it is only 4½ hours time difference with the UK. Electricity In most places the voltage is 220V, but in some places there is also DC current. It is advisable to check the voltage before you plug in any electrical gadget. The plug points also vary from place to place. |
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Health and safetyIndia is generally a safe country to travel in, despite having a population of more than 1 billion people and having areas of vast poverty, you shouldn't experience any problems. But like any country you visit it's worth keeping up to date with the information provided by the Foreign & Commonwealth Offices website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/ and then on the 'Travel advice per country' link.Vaccinations There is no need to produce a vaccination book except for those people who have travelled through areas where yellow fever is endemic (such as some parts of Africa and South America). The vaccination book must conform to the applicable international standards. See also the page with information about Health. |
Contacting home...Telephone, fax, telegram, telex. The larger hotels and post offices in the larger cities offer an international 24-hour service. You can direct-dial almost all phone calls outside the country. There are also excellent connections between the large cities, but occasionally the number has to be requested through an exchange. The postal service is also generally good. Tourists can bring and collect personal post at the counters of the Tourist Mail Service in the General Post Offices, as well as at the India Tourist Offices in the tourist centres. You can buy stamps in the hotels. |
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