Applying for a visa for India – what you need to know!

When applying for a visa for India there are some things you should bear in mind! In this article we will give you an overview of the two ways of applying for the visa, different visa categories and the Indian Missions in Germany responsible to process your visa application. 

For short-term stays like touristic, business or medical treatment trips you have the possibility to apply for an e-Visa for India. In that way you can easily apply online for an e-Tourist, e-Business, e-Conference, e-Medical and an e-Medical Attendant Visa. Please refer to our article on e-Visa for India to get to know under which circumstances these categories apply for your trip and which documents you need for the application process. We recommend giving preference to the online application as an e-Visa whenever it’s possible. Because that is the easiest way to obtain a visa for you! 

If your purpose of travelling to India doesn’t fulfil the requirements for an e-Visa you will have to apply for a Regular Visa (also called Paper Visa, since it is submitted on paper and not digitally). The submission of your application takes place in one of the Indian Missions or responsible visa agencies in Germany. 

(Credit: Dennis Rochel - Unsplash) 

In Germany you can find four Indian Missions and belonging visa agencies which are responsible for processing all Regular Visa applications. Please refer to the website of the visa agency responsible for you and check what they require for the application of certain visa types. As per your registered address in Germany the responsibilities of the agencies are the following: 

Berlin - International Visa Service Europe http://www.ivs-germany.com/

responsible for Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Thüringen 

München - International Visa Service Europe http://www.ivs-germany.com/

responsible for Bayern und Baden-Württemberg 

Hamburg - Indo-German Consultancy Services https://igcsvisa.de/

responsible for Hamburg, Bremen, Niedersachsen, Schleswig-Holstein

Frankfurt - Indo-German Consultancy Services https://igcsvisa.de/

responsible for Hessen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland 

The Regular Visa provides different categories for different purposes of travel to India: 

Tourist Visa, Employment Visa, Business Visa, Conference Visa, Student Visa (which you have to apply for to get an Intern Visa), Entry Visa, Medical and Medical Attendant Visa, Journalist Visa, Film Visa and Transit Visa. 

The process for applying for a Regular Visa differs slightly in the two different visa agencies. For Berlin and München you have to fill out the application form online, print it out, sign it and submit it together with the other required documents, your passport and at least two biometric photographs during the opening hours (Mo-Fri 8.30 am - 2.30 pm). Please consider the holidays in which the agency remains closed. After submission of the application you will receive a text message as soon as the processing is done. Your passport with the visa sticker can be picked up or will be sent to you by post. 

In Frankfurt it is the same procedure but you will have to book an appointment to submit the visa application within the opening hours (Mo-Fri 9-11.30 am and 2-4 pm). In Hamburg on the other hand the opening hours are from 9 am - 12 pm and you don’t need an appointment. For Frankfurt as well as for Hamburg please consider the holidays when the offices remain closed. During the COVID-pandemic it is not possible to pick up your passport in either of the cities and in all agencies only process very urgent applications. 

Nevertheless, in Frankfurt and Hamburg you have the possibility of submitting your application via post. In addition to all the required documents for the application you should add a transaction confirmation of the visa fees as well as an envelope with sufficient postage for the return. Regardless of the current situation with the pandemic, if you submit your application via post, you can not collect your passport in person.

For every visa application you need specific documents according to the purpose of your visit to India. Anyway, there are some documents that you will need for every visa application: the online filled application form, your passport which should be at least valid for another 6 months and should still have two blank pages as well as two biometric photographs of you. 

The visa fees vary depending on the purpose of your travel and the agency you are applying at. Please refer to the overview of fees for the two agencies for Berlin and München and for Hamburg and Frankfurt. If you submit your application in person you have to pay the visa fees in cash, if you decide to submit the application via post you have to transfer the fees and add proof of the transaction. None of the visa fees are refundable, neither when you withdraw the application nor when the duration of your permitted stay changes or the visa is not granted at all. 

Important facts about the application for a visa for India

The online application form which you have to fill for the e-Visa as well as for the Regular Visa can be saved and edited later on. As soon as you submit your application you can not add any changes though. You should always save your application ID to be able to check the status of your application. For every application for a Regular Visa you have to book an appointment separately or at least come forward separately in the office. The processing of the Regular Visa takes at least 3 working days, the e-Visa is usually processed within 24 hours. 

Once you have all the information it is not very difficult to apply for a visa for India. We hope this article will help you with your visa application. Please refer to the official website of the Indian government for further information. Or if you have any questions or want to share your experiences with the visa application process for India feel free to use our comments section below! 

Status of Information as of July 2021 (for recent updates please check https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/)

Written by: Tanja Holbe

Cover Photo: Illustration (Credit: Ananya Singh)

Photo: Camera, Passport and Map of India (Credit: Dennis Rochel - Unsplash)

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