Job Discussion Forums

[saren]

Indian tourist visa in Colombo, Sri Lanka (cheaper)?

I know India needs visas for both Norwegian and Canadian nationals, and I've heard they hand out wonderfully long six-month visas. Of course, purchasing a visa in either Canada or Norway would prove expensive, maybe more than 50 euro. My question is, since I am going to Sri lanka first (and spending 10 or so days), should I apply for an Indian visa in Colombo the first day, have a look around, wait for the visa to clear, and stamped in the passport, then catch a cheap flight to Kerala, South India, just over the water? How much would an Indian visa (tourist status) cost in Colombo? Are there are special requirements needed, for example I heard applying for an Indian visa in Sub-saharan Africa requires an additional Yellow Fever vaccanination certificate, regardless of your nationality. Does India require similar paperwork from Westerners arriving via Sri Lanka as well? Thanks

[squindia]

hello

I don't have personal experience getting an Indian visa outside of my home country (USA) so can't answer many of your questions.

However, I have friends (Canadians) that have received their Indian visas in Sri Lanka easily. This was a few years ago and rumors are that it is getting more and more difficult to obtain a visa for India outside of one's own country. If you are able I'd say get the visa in your country to be on the safe side.

squid

[Stephen Jones]

It's normal to wait in a queue outside the Indian Embassy in Colombo for hours. That is presuming you can get past the police and army checkpoints to get onto Galle Road in the first place.

The price of visas in most countries in the world is based on reciprocity. That is to say a British national will pay for an Indian visa what an Indian national pays for a British visa (and government policy over the last thirty years has meant that visas for Brits have gone from being the cheapest in the world to the most expensive). So there will probably be no saving getting the visa in Sri Lanka as opposed to getting it elsewhere.

That said it's well worth taking a couple of weeks in Sri Lanka just to see the place.

[saren]

What can I see in Sri Lanka that I can't in Southern India (Kerala), as far natural, scenic landscape photography is concerned?

[jivendost]

Generally, I believe you must pay the visa fee based on the passport of the country you have. So since you don't have a Sri Lankan passport, you wouldn't be able to pay the same amount as a Sri Lankan national. As far as what you could see in terms of natural beauty in Sri Lanka that you can't get in India?...I haven't been to SL so I can't answer that question but I suspect that there are some naturally beautiful parts of SL that you may not be able to access because the LTTE (Tigers, for short) may get in your way. Instead of trying to beat the system, I would definitely stay on the safe side and pay the full fee especially given everyone's reaction to the recent attacks in Mumbai (if you haven't left and/or come back yet).

[Tiger Beer]