About India

GENERAL INFORMATION

Customs On Arrival
There are two customs clearance channels. The green channel is for travellers carrying non-dutiable items while the red channel is for travellers carrying dutiable items.

Duty-free items which you may bring to India include personal effects like clothing and other articles but not if this is commercial merchandise. All expensive electronic equipment/s must be declared at the Customs on arrival - which will be re-checked on departure. Take care to obtain an Export Certificate for these items if you are travelling to neighbouring countries and intend a multiple entry.

You can not bring in gold coins, gold or silver bullion into the country. Weapons brought into the country should be licensed and declared. Any cash or travellers cheques over US$ 10,000 or equivalent must be declared. Possession of narcotics is strictly prohibited. Personal effects which are not used during your stay must be carried back to you. Gift worth Rs. 4,000 for tourists of foreign origin and Rs. 12,000 for tourists of Indian origin 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 gm of tobacco, one litre each of wine and spirits is allowed free of duty.

Documents & Formalities
All travelers to India must possess a valid Visa (single/Multy entry) depending upon the number of visit/s. It is advisable to carry your passport during your travel while in India for possible identification requirements.

Export of Antiquities
Antiquities, which include sculpture, painting or other works of art and crafts, illustrative of science, art, crafts, religion of bygone ages and of historical interest which have been in existence for not less than 100 years may not be exported out of India.

Manuscripts or other documents of scientific, historical, literary or aesthetic value in existence for not less than 75 years; art treasures, not necessarily antiquities but having regard to the artistic and aesthetic value cannot be exported out of India.

For further clarification on the antiquity of an artefact, the tourists can contact the authorities and get information on the Acts and Rules governing Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972.

Guides
Trained English speaking guides are available at fixed charges at all important tourist centres. French, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian and Japanese speaking guides are available at most of the important cities. Since the Language speaking guides are limited in numbers, enough notice should be given to your travel agent to block them for assignments.

Unapproved guides are not permitted to enter protected monuments and tourists are, therefore, advised to ask for the services of guides who carry a certificate issued by the Department of Tourism/Archaeological Survey of India.

Healthcare
If a foreign tourist originates from or has transited through endemic Yellow Fever countries (Africa, South America, Papua New Guinea), he/she must possess a Yellow Fever Vaccination certificate.

No other vaccination certificate is mandatory though you may like to consult your doctor for innoculation against typhoid, hepatitis A and meningitis. If you are a health fanatic, you may like to consider innoculation against polio, measles, mumps, cholera etc. However a few careful precautions will make sure that even if you do not take the innoculations, you are protected.

Income Tax Clearance
If a person not domiciled in India intends to stay in the country for more than 120 days, an Income Tax Clearance' certificate is required in order to leave the country. This document will prove that the person's stay in India was financed by his own money and not by working or selling his goods. The foreign section of the Income Tax Department at Delhi, Calcutta, Madras and Bombay issues these certificates on being  shown the person's passport, visa extension form and the currency exchange receipts which have been used by the person. Inland Air Travel Tax (IATT)

An Inland Air Travel Tax is leviable at 10 percent of the basic fare, on all passengers embarking on an inland air journey. Passengers paying their airfare in foreign exchange will be exempted from payment of this tax. In addition infants, cancer patients, blind persons and invalids (those on stretchers) are also exempted from this tax after fulfilling certain conditions in the relevant notifications. Check-in time for all domestic flights is one hour before departure.

International Airport Facilities
The international airports offer a range of services ensuring that the traveller on business can continue working while waiting to catch an international connection, or when transferring between international flights. These include gourmet restaurants, business centres and are equipped with state of the art equipment including word processors and telefax. Airports also provide the tourist with such facilities for leisure as duty-free and handicrafts shopping, informal snack bars, nursery and baby care rooms, and even an art gallery. Duty-free prices in the airport shops are very competitive, offering you bargains on international merchandise.

Money Matters
The Indian currency is the Rupee and it is a fully convertible currency. The Rupee notes are available in denominations of 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1. Coins are available in the denominations of 5,2,1 (rupee) and 50 and 25 paise. (Rupee 01 = Paisa 100).

Foreign Currency: Foreign exchange/currency brought into India must be declared at Customs should the value of foreign currency exceed US$ 2,500 or the aggregate value of the foreign exchange including currency notes exceeds US$ 10,000 or equivalent. You can exchange money at international airports where 24-hour exchange facilities are available through banks and approved money changers. You can also change money at nationalised banks and other banks in the country.

Restrictions, Restricted and Protected Areas
Military installations and areas, defence organisations and research organisations are considered protected areas, where permits are generally not given to foreigners.

Photography Restrictions : Photography is prohibited in places of military importance, railway stations, bridges, airports and other military installations.

For photography at some of the monuments by Video cameras specially for commercial purposes, a special permission is to be obtained from the Archaeological Survey of India.

Restrictions to Export of Articles Made From Animals : Govt. of India is concerned about the conservation of its endangered and rare fauna. With this view, export of all wild animals indigenous to the country and articles made from such listed animals like skin, pelts, furs, ivory, rhino horns, trophies etc have been totally banned.

Tourists are also advised to acquaint themselves with the provisions of Convention on International Trade of endangered species of wild fauna and flora. All the member countries of the convention allow import of the articles covered by convention on the strength of a certificate of export from the country of origin.

The Indian Seasons
India has three major seasons: winter, summer and the monsoon. The winter months (November-February) have bright, sunny days and are pleasant throughout India. The summer months (April-June) are hot in most parts of India. During this period, hill stations such as Shimla, Mussoorie, Nainital, Kullu and the Kashmir valley (North), Darjeeling, Shillong (North-East), Ootacamund, Kodaikanal (South), Pachmarhi (Central India) and Mount Abu (Rajasthan) provide cool retreats. The monsoon is an amazing phenomenon of nature. Sometime in June, the clouds break in the coast of southern India and are pushed up northwards by July - immersing the entire Indian sub-continent in torrents. Except for the south-eastern region, India receives its major share of rain between June and September. The south-eastern areas receive most rainfall from the northeasterly monsoon between mid-October and December-end. However, the only area which remains dry is the highest desert in the world - the fascinating moonscape of Ladakh. This is the time to trek up here.

Visas
All foreign tourists to India (barring nationals of Nepal and Bangladesh) must possess a valid visa. Visas are not issued on arrival. The cost of the visa is approx. US$ 30 for upto six months, US$ 50 for upto one year and US$ 100 for more than year and upto five years. Contact the Indian Embassy or consulate in you country with the required documents for issuance of visas. A tourist visa is valid for three to six months. The multiple entry Tourist visas simplify your visits to neighbouring countries. You will be required to fill in a disembarkation card on your way to India which is required to be submitted at the Immigration counters at the entry airport.

Collective Visas Foreign tourist travelling in groups of not less than four, through a recognised travel agent, can be granted tourist visas without prior reference, or even granted collective visas for tourism in India. In such cases the following procedure may be adopted.

Transit Visas Transit visa are granted by Indian Missions abroad for a maximum period of 15 days.

Exemption from Registration Foreigners coming to India on tourist visas for 180 days or a shorter period are not required to register themselves with any authority in India. They can move about freely in the country, except to restricted/protected areas and prohibited places unless and until a special permit is obtained to visit these restricted areas. Nationals of Bangladesh are exempt from registration for up to six months. If their stay exceeds six months, they have to register themselves with the concerned authorities. Family passports issued by other governments are recognised without discrimination.

Landing Permit Facility (For group tourists) Foreign tourists in groups of four or more arriving by air or sea, sponsored by recognised Indian travel agencies and with a pre-drawn itinerary may be granted a collective landing permit for a specified period of time on the written request of the travel agencies at least 06 months prior to the proposed date of travel. The Immigration Officer must have full personal and passport details of the group members, the itinerary, an undertaking to conduct the group as per their itinerary and an assurance that no individual will be allowed to drop out from the group at any place. However, such landing permits do not entitle Israeli group tourist to visit the state of J & K unless they are specifically cleared by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Extension of Visa As a rule, no extension of stay is granted on a Tourist Visa. Tourist visas are available for a maximum period of 180 days. No charges are levied for visa extension within the maximum period of 180 days. Identical passport photographs are required. However, in the case of an extension beyond 180 days, which is allowed only in exceptional cases, an extension fee which varies for different nationalities is charged. In case a foreign tourist has obtained extension beyond three months of stay in India, he/she will have to surrender his/her Certificate of Registration and Residential Permit before leaving India.

Other Types of Visas If a foreigner wishes to come to India for a purpose other than tourism, he should come after obtaining an appropriate visa out of the following:

Business Visa
A foreigner can obtain from an Indian Embassy abroad. A multiple-entry business visa valid for five years, provided he wants to come for business. Foreigners of Indian origin can obtain a five-year multiple-entry visa for business, to meet their relatives etc.

Student Visa
A student visa can be obtained from the Indian Embassy on the production of proof of administration and means of sustenance while in India. The visa is valid for one year but is extended in India for the duration of the course. The visa will be valid for the duration of the course of five years, whichever is less.

Foreigners wanting to study yoga, music, vedic culture, dance etc. are required to apply well in advance with all necessary particulars. Indian embassies may consider granting visas for upto a period of five years.

Conference Visa
Delegates coming to attend international conferences in India can be granted Conference Visas to cover the conference as well as tourism purposes. Delegates are advised to apply to the Indian Embassies well in advance.

Foreigners wishing to undertake trekking, botanical expeditions, mountaineering expeditions, canoe-rafting, etc., in a team may be granted visas for the required duration on presentation of full details.

Sports teams or individual sportsmen wishing to participate in international sports events being held in India may be granted visas.

Foreign journalists, media-men, documentary and feature film makers may obtain necessary visas after due formalities as required by the Indian Embassy.

Foreigners wanting to come to India for employment should apply for an Employment Visa issued by Indian missions. Initially granted for one year, it can be extended in India upto the period of contract.