Visa Requirements

U.S. citizens must apply for a visa to travel to India. You will have to provide an application form, a passport, two passport photos and a fee of approximately $40-$60 depending on the method of application. Processing times vary from 5-20 days. The visa may be expedited for an additional fee. Passport and Visa: Citizens of all countries need to have a valid passport and an entry, transit or tourist visa obtained from the Indian Mission in their respective countries. Tourist visa is normally valid for 120 days. An income-tax clearance certificate issued by the Foreign Section of the Income-Tax Office is required if the stay exceeds 120 days.

You can also get your visa extended by applying to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Lok Nayak Bhavan at Khan Market in New Delhi. The letter should be handed over at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office at Hans Bhavan, Tilak Bridge near ITO Delhi. Those wishing to visit neighbouring country like Sri Lanka or Nepal, and then coming back to India, should obtain a double/multiple entry visa. All the foreigners are required to get themselves registered with the Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office which is situated in Hans Bhavan Tilak Road near ITO Delhi. Yellow fever vaccination certificate is compulsory for those who have travelled across Africa or Papua New Guinea in the last six days and the certificate becomes valid 10 days after the vaccination. No vaccination against small pox or cholera is required. Those without the yellow certificate are held responsible to be quarantined for up to six days.

Opening a Bank Account

Foreign tourists during their short visit to India can open a Non-Resident (Ordinary) Rupee (NRO) account with any bank dealing in foreign exchange. Such accounts can be opened up to a maximum period of 6 months. The tourists can freely make local payments by debit to the NRO account.

At the time of departure from India, foreign tourist can repatriate the balance held in their NRO account. The banks have been allowed to convert the balance in the account into foreign currency on condition that the account has been maintained for a period not exceeding six months and the account has not been credited with any local funds, other than interest accrued thereon.

In case the account has been maintained for more than six months, an application for repatriation of balance may be made on a paper to the concerned Regional Office of Reserve Bank.