Travelling is one of the most interesting and informative hobbies but due to the global pandemic, this hobby has made many travelers become stranded in foreign countries. Due to the lockdown all over the globe, many tourists who went to foreign countries for tourism and exploration of the world outside their beloved India, got captured there and faced many problems. One of these problems is the expiration of their Visas which can indeed get them in trouble. They would, thus, want Indian visa extension to stay in the foreign countries without any problem, until they get the permission to go back to their homeland.

Background

The corona virus has made the countries shut down their air operations due to which the tourists got stranded in the countries they were exploring. Many governments, including the Indian government have taken the right steps to help their stranded citizens and visa extension is one of them. This decision is made to extend the expiration date on the visas of tourists and allowing them to live in the foreign countries freely until the airlines reopen.

How To Extend the INDIAN Visa?

In India, the people who are willing to travel have to apply online for Visa extension via Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO). This online system of visa extension enables the travelers to have their visas extended without any kind of ambiguity or delays.

Due to the lockdown, the Indian government has closed its doors for the outsiders in order to prevent the countrymen from the dangerous virus. The overseas Indians are also not allowed to enter the country because of the global restrictions on travelling and the cancellation of the flights all over the world. In such critical situations, the tourists who came to see the rich culture and glorious sights of India got stranded in India too. Therefore, Indian Government became courteous enough to let them live freely in India for 30 days or so. In this way, the tourists will be able to live without any kind of fear or pressure until the restrictions are removed. The visa extension facility is available for the foreigner tourists who went to India for exploration purposes and got stranded there. They can apply for the extension in their Indian Visa. The extension will be up-to 30 days. Besides the Indian tourist visa, the visas of the UN-officials, diplomatic staff or the people linked to the United Nations who came to India for their work, will not be suspended. The tourists whose visas expired by February 01, 2020 were supposed to apply for the extension online. The process of applying for visa extension online is very simple and it’s the same for e-visa and regular visa.

Online Portal for Application

People may think that the process of applying for visa extension in India is very tiring because one may have to travel through local transport to reach the immigration office for application of the extension, but this is not true. India launched the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) called e-FRRO portal in 2018, which is an online platform that deals with all immigration queries. One can apply for visa extension online without any kind of problem. The application is also simpler as all the things one would need are clearly listed there. This online portal is one of the greatest technologies launched in India which has not only helped a lot of stranded foreigners regarding their visa issues but also has made them believe how generous Indian government is.

Online Portal for Application Who Is Eligible to Apply?

The foreigners having a regular visa or e-visa can apply for the visa extension India if their visa expires after 1st of February. They can use the online portal for the registration because it is the fastest and the most convenient way of applying. The old immigration offices are not used much because of this revolutionary portal that has given the people ease of applying from their homes. The people applying for extension will have to fill up the registration form and then upload all the required documents in order to complete their application. Applying documents is not difficult as all of the information is provided for helping the users. The documents should be in the scanned form. The portal itself is very user-friendly and there is no ambiguity in understanding where to upload the documents.

Required Documents

The documents include:

Passport sized photograph

• It should not be bigger than 1 MB.
• It should be in JPEG format.
• It should have a white background without any shadows.
• It should not be photoshopped or edited.
• It should have a frontal view of your face in it.
• The complete face should be in the center of the photograph.

If the photograph fails to meet the above mentioned requirements, the Indian government does not grant the extension by rejecting the application.

Scanned colored copy of original and valid passport

• It should be in PDF format.
• The passport must be scanned from the front.
• All the text and the photograph on it should be accurately visible.

If there is any ambiguity in understanding the text written on it, they will ask the applicant to send it again.

Scanned copy of Indian Visa

• It should be in pdf format.
• The scanned copy should not be blur and all the data written on it should be clearly visible.
• Its maximum size is 1MB.

Proof of residence

It should be uploaded with the scanned copy of the photo-id of the landlord. It can be your hotel bills too.

Payment of Fee and Notification

The fee for this application is taken through the Bank payment gateway which is also available on the portal. The notification of the payment receipt is given to the end-user via text message or email.

Procedure

Type of Regular Visa and eVisa:

• India e-Medical visa: Given to the individuals who need medical assistance in recognized Indian medical institutions.
• India e-Business Visa: Given to the people who need to initiate their business or magnify it in India.
• India e-Medical attendant Visa: Granted to the individuals whose relatives are admitted in Indian hospital.
• India e-conference Visa: Given to the individuals who desire to be a part of any conference being held in India.
• India e-tourist visa: Given to the foreigners who want to visit India for sight-seeing, religious purposes or simply vacations.

Extension on Regular Visa and e-Visa with FRRO:

The applicant who wants to get India visa extension on Indian regular visa or e-visa has to register first. If he has already registered then he will only have to login to the portal and follow the next steps. If he has not registered then he will have to register first by filling up a form asking for personal details like full name, mobile number, gender, date of birth, email, etc. After creating the account, the email and the phone number will be used for user verification and once the user is authenticated then, he will be allowed to apply for the extension. One can also see the current status of the application on the portal. Once the application is either approved or rejected the user will be acknowledged by email. In case of emergency, one can directly report to the FRRO office too.

The applicants are advised not to apply again and again if they have applied once because that may lead to redundant data causing the decision of the approval or rejection to be ambiguous for the FRRO. Moreover, there can be some technical problems due to which the online portal becomes unresponsive.

Extension on Regular Visa and e-Visa with Indian visa extension:

Helping you getting extension

You have to follow the simple steps to have your visa extended which include filling up the online application with the correct information, uploading all the required documents precisely, making the payment and then waiting for the notification. In case of any ambiguity, our 24/7 active customer service centers can be contacted.

In this case, the applicants are advised to fill up the application form again and if still not works, they can report to the service centers which are currently operating in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Kolkata, Trivandrum, and Cochin. The foreigners can contact them easily and can forward their queries to them in case of any difficulty or problem.

Application Criteria

Indian tourist visa, Indian Conference Visa, Indian medical visa, Indian business visa and Indian medical attendant visa and all kinds of Regular visa can be extended by this online application. This e-portal has made the foreigners’ lives easier and the facilities that Indian government is providing are remarkable enough to make India a hospitable and welcoming country where the outsiders are taken care of, excellently.

FAQ

1. How do I extend my Indian visa? 2. What is the process of visa extension? Can Frro extend visa? 4. Can I renew my Indian visa before it expires? 5. What is the extension of India? 6. Can I stay in India after my visa expires? 7. How do I write a visa extension letter? 8. What happens if my visa expires? 9. What is the penalty for overstaying in India? 10. How can I extend my visa online? 11. How do I apply for Frro? 12. How can I check the status of my Indian visa extension?