Urgent : E-Tourist Visa extension

englishtutorjul · Aug 20, 2015

I applied for an e-tourist visa for my minor son (3 years), who is a US citizen. I was under the impression, that the 30 day limit for the visa is applicable, from the day you land in India, but I was told by the immigration officer at the airport, that it is from the day you left US. Also, when booking my flight tickets, I forgot that the month has 31 days. So I ended up booking my return tickets on the 32nd day instead of 30th. My husband and I do not need tourist visas since we are Indian citizens. So even though it is only my son who will need to reschedule his return, since he is just 3 and a minor, we will need all our tickets to be rescheduled. Since these tickets are non-refundable, if I try to reschedule my return, it will cost me a minimum of $600.Given this was a genuine mistake from my side, will I be allowed to make an extension request? I understand E-tourist Visa is non-extensible, but I would like to know what my options are in this situation. Talking to FRRO on phone did not help much. They only kept stating the rules repeatedly.

Induslady · Nov 14, 2016

Hope you found a solution for your son's visa extension and got to stay for a few more days as family.

Posting here the info about eTourist Visa so its useful for many.
eTV - E Tourist Visa is non extendable. It is granted by applying for it from outside India (in this case US) and the visa actually gets stamped when landed in India (port of entry). It is for 30 days from the date of travel and is granted only twice for a person during a calendar year.

Induslady · Nov 18, 2016

I recently found this additional info about eTV - E Tourist Visa. Like mentioned earlier it is non-extendable (or) non convertible into any other visa.

However, if you contact in 2/3 days before your travelm, the FRRO (@chennai it is Shastri Bhavan) in person, depending on the situation (or) unavoidable reason that makes you unable to travel by the 30th day, they will give you an exit permission 5 or 7 days later.