Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Gatsby]

Anyone here get a tourist visa for India while in Korea?

What did you get?

It looks like the outfit that is processing visa applications is lumping everyone together, Americans, etc.

According to the Indian embassy in Seoul, they have outsourced the visa processing to this company:

http://www.ttservices.co.kr/Home.aspx?Cul=en-US

And they are telling me that I am only eligible for a three-month visa, which only allows me to stay in India for 60 days. After that I must leave for two months before reapplying for another tourist visa. You can apply for a six-month visa, but then you have to travel to Seoul for an interview at the Indian consulate, and the visa is still only good for two months at a time. So you go for two months, have to leave for two months, and then can return for the remainder of the visa. As I am hoping to do some volunteer work there, two months is not what I was hoping for.

However, the site in the US (also outsourced), offers Americans a six-month visa, good for six months, or even a a 5 or 10 year visa, though you are still limited to six months at one time. I am still trying to figure it out, but haven't seen anything about requiring any interview by the Indian embassy.

https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/consular-fees?id=1

Frankly, it sounds like the outfit in Seoul is applying the same rules for Koreans to Americans.

Anyone have any first-hand experience?

Anyone know if you can have your visa application processed in the US even if you are in Korea?

[samd]

Do you know why exactly they will only give you a 3 month visa? I went to India in December/January with a friend, and we both got 1 year visas even though we didn't ask for them. His wife couldn't get one at all though because her passport had less than 3 months on it.

The process is a royal pain, and prepares you well for India, lol.

[Gatsby]

I didn't know there was such a thing as a one year visa, at least for tourist visas.

Did you apply in Korea?

It seems the outfit that processes the visa applications in Korea only distinguishes between Koreans and non-Koreans, as best as I can tell.

http://www.ttservices.co.kr/Home.aspx?Cul=en-US

But that doesn't necessarily meant that what they are telling people is how India will interpret the visa. So it's a bit of a mystery.

You can apply through the US processor, so long as you have a way to get the processed passport back to you in Korea. And for Americans, that means you can apply for a 10-year tourist visa with no embassy interview. Why you can't do that here is a mystery. Frankly, my suspicions are that the Korean outfit is, uh, slightly confused.

[Kurtz]

[samd]

[Gatsby]

Did you have to have an interview at the Indian Embassy to get a 6-month visa?

That's what this outfit is telling me. Plus, they say you can only stay in India for two months at a time, even on a 6 month visa, and then you must leave for two months.

You can get a three month visa without an interview, they say, but you can still only stay in India for two months, and then must leave for at least two months before returning.

The US office says a whole different thing.

I don't blame the Indians; I think the Koreans who are handling the applications are clueless. It sounds like once the visa is approved, though, you maybe get the same as in the US.

But here's the thing: The US office can give you a 10-year visa, with a 6 month limit per visit. So if you are coming to Korea, you could get the 10-year Indian visa before you come, and if you suddenly decide you want to take a cheap vacation, you could book a flight to India and hang out for a week or two, ride the rails, stay in a hostel, get a hotel room dirt cheap, etc. And then you could do it again next school vacation, or go over and chill after finishing your contract. So the 10-year visa is pretty cool, if you are in Asia. I wonder if any other countries around here have a similar deal?

[samd]