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Passport
and Visas
All
foreign national travelling to India need a valid
passport and visa. Tourist Visa : The application for
a tourist visa should be made out of the prescribed
form and submitted together with two passport size
photographs to the Embassy of India. Any frequent
traveller to India should apply for a visa allowing
entry for a longer period, but every visit should not
last longer than six months. Stay period beyond six
months should be registered in the FRRO or the nearest
police station.
Restricted
and Protected Areas
These
area’s were earlier restricted, but are now open to
tourists. Which means that foreign tourists can visit
these areas without any restricted area permit:
Darjeeling
(West Bengal), entire Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura.
Foreign
Tourists still require restricted area permit to visit
the following areas:
Arunachal
Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshwadeep,
Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim and certain areas
of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Restricted area permit can be obtained from Ministry
of Home Affairs, New Delhi, Indian Missions Abroad,
Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) in
India, resident Commissioners of respective State
Governments based in Delhi and Home Commissioners of
each state capitals.
Application
for restricted permit has to be made at least six
weeks in advance. For Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
entry permit can be obtained from the Chief
Immigration officers in Madras, Calcutta and Port
Blair. Restricted area permit for Sikkim, Andaman and
Nicobar Islands can also be obtained on the spot.
Health
regulation
No
vaccination certificate is required for entry into
India except the persons travelling through Yellow
fever epidemic countries (Certain African and Latin
American Countries) are required to have yellow fever
vaccination certificate conforming to International
Health regulations.
Language
English
enjoys associate status but is the most important
language for national, political and commercial
communication. Hindi, the national language is the
primary tongue for 30% of the population. Hindustani,
a popular variant of
Hindi/Urdu and is spoken widely throughout
Northern India.
Tourist
Guides
English
speaking government approved guides are available at
all major tourist centers. French. German, Spanish.
Italian, Japanese or Russian speaking guides can be
arranged on request according to their availability.
Unapproved tourist guides are not allowed access to
protected monuments and tourists should make sure that
the guide has a license which has been approved by the
Department of Tourism.
Time
Zone
The
time difference in India is GMT + 5 ½ hours. This is
the time difference throughout the year.
Electricity
Voltage
at most places is 220 V AC, 50 Hz, though a few area
have a DC supply as well. Tourists are advised to
check the supply before using their appliances.
Photography
Photography
with still and video camera is permitted at all
monuments. A special license is needed to photograph
ancient monuments using a flash and tripod.
The license can be issued by the Archaeological
Survey of India, New Delhi and concerned Archaeology
departments. Photography in tribal areas is not
permitted.
Currency
Restrictions
There
are no import restrictions on money or traveler’s
cheques brought into the country. Cash, Bank Note or
travellers’ cheques upto a value of USD 10,000 or
equivalent, need not be declared on entry into the
country. Tourists are advised to exchange cash or
traveller’s cheques only in Banks or authorised
exchanges and retain the receipts. This allows for
re-exchange of currency on departure.
Airport
Tax
Passengers
embarking on journey to any place outside India from a
custom’s airport will have to pay an airport tax of
INR 500. However for journeys to Afghanistan, Bhutan,
Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Maldives
- INR 150 if they are returning back to India.
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