Holders of passports from a majority of countries including UK, Ireland, United States, Germany, France, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and Sri Lanka will often require a six month visa in order to holiday in India, although you may be given a shorter one. Even if you are only visiting for a few days, make sure that your passport is valid for the entire duration of six months.  You can book your holiday and pay a deposit while making enquiries.  However, do not finalise your travel arrangements to India before ascertaining your visa requirements. Contact the Indian High Commission in your country of residence or visit the India Visa Application Centre, officially appointed by the Indian High Commission to handle visa requests.  For more details check: http://www.indianembassy.org or http://hcilondon.in

In Britain and North America, you’ll need two passport photographs and an application form, obtainable by post in advance or on the day. The rules and regulations regarding passports and visas can often change and it is best to check details and costs with the relevant office. In London, applications normally take an hour or two. Contact details:




They have outsourced collection and delivery of visa applications in the UK to VF Services who can be found at :http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk

Those who are booking a tour that involves visiting two countries (i.e. India and Sri Lanka or India and the Maldives) and need to enter India twice to catch connecting flights, a `double’ or `multiple entry’ Visa for India is required. The visa form may ask you for two references in India. If you are travelling on a Red Dot tour, you can use these two names:


Always carry extra photographs of yourself when travelling to India. These are required for a wide variety of uses including when purchasing an Indian SIM card for your mobile phone.