An idiots guide to getting an Indian visa in Vietnam
On our year-long travel we are visiting India. We had to wait till we were nearer India before getting our visas as the Indian visa starts when issued. This means the day you get the visa it starts. I came across information online that it was easy to get a visa in Hanoi for India. Due to the fact there are not many Indians living in Vietnam, unlike Malaysia where we were going to get it.
Filling in the online forms
The first step is to go to the Indian Government online visa application website which is at India visa online https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/
Once you go to this gateway you need to follow the steps in filling out the online application. They ask a lot of questions and it does take a while to complete. There were some questions that threw me, such as what was your last visa number for India. The last time I visited India was 1990 so that passport and visa number were long gone. I found out all you need to do is fill in the number they ask for with all zeros. You also tell the visa officer at the consulate what you have done and they make a notation on the hard copy of your application.
Double check you have filled in your application correctly, you can save drafts as your given a unique number to log back into your application. This means you do not have to do it all in one sitting. Once you have correctly filled in your application print out a hard copy to take along to the consulate in Hanoi. You also need to upload an electronic passport photo with a white background. We did this with our iPhone and it was accepted. You also need to take along a passport photo to the consulate. The dimensions for the photo size are on the website.
The following is a link to help in submitting and filling an Indian online visa application: Indian online visa guidelines for filling in and submitting an application.
Once you have done the online application you need to go to the Hanoi Indian Consulate.
Where is the Indian Consulate in Hanoi
The Indian Embassy in Hanoi‘s physical address is: 58-60 Trần Hưng Đạo, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam and their phone number is +84 4 3824 4998. It is not far from the Old Quarter in Hanoi. It took us about 15 minutes to walk from our hotel in the Old Quarter to the embassy.
What next?
After you complete your online application and print out the form. You need to gather all the information and make photocopies. One obstacle was you have to give an address in India, we booked a place in India on arrival and used that address and printed out our reservation. There was no problem. We also printed out our flights in and out of India.
The embassy opening hours for visas are Monday to Friday, from 0930-1230. We got their first thing in the morning and were the only ones there. We waited a few minutes and then had a short interview with the visa officer. He asked a few questions about where we were going and how long we were going for. We then paid him US$65 each, the price for Canadian and New Zealand citizens. The price varies depending on your nationality. We got a receipt and told to come back a few days later at 11.30 to pick up our passport and visa. It takes around 3-5 days. A couple of things to remember is that the is embassy closed in the afternoons for visas and they only accept US dollars.
We went back on the day and time told and were given six month visas.
Recap
Complete online application form – printed and signed.
One passport photo attached to application form
Copies of flight in and out
Copy of reservation at hotel when you first arrive
65 US dollars (Canadian and kiwi’s)
Passport
It takes 3-5 working days. Good luck.
