We were half way through our trip when we decided we wanted to add India into the itinerary. We thought we could get the e-visa online, but it only lasts up to 30 days and we wanted to stay longer. That’s ok we thought, we’ll just get it in Bangkok. You can get everything in Bangkok. Nope, we discovered that foreign citizens could no longer apply there for an Indian visa. Malaysia was out of the question too. Right, how can we get our India visas without having to go back to the UK for a few months first?
Vietnam was the answer. Lovely Vietnam.
We emailed the Indian embassy in Hanoi and they confirmed that UK citizens can still apply there for a 3 month tourist visa.
Here is everything you need to know about getting an Indian visa in Hanoi:
The Indian Embassy in Hanoi is located at: 58-60 Trần Hưng Đạo, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi.
You can walk there in around 15 minutes from the Old Quarter.
- The first step is to apply online for the visa at https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/Registration
- Make sure you click the Regular Visa Application and select the country and mission as Vietnam – Hanoi.
- Double check all your details are correct as once it has been submitted any changes will mean starting all over again.
- Submit the form (this won’t actually go anywhere) and print it out.
The embassy will only see you if you have an appointment, which you can book on their website in advance: http://indembassy.com.vn/online-appointment-for-consular-service.php
Things to take to your appointment:
- The completed printed application form
- 1 passport photo, size 5cm x 5cm
- Your passport
- A copy of your flight details into the country (they didn’t ask for proof of onward travel)
- Application fee of $165 USD in cash (for UK citizens, fees for other countries may vary)
We went to the embassy for our scheduled appointment, he asked us a couple of questions like if this was our first visit to the country etc. We paid our application fees, he kept our passports and said we could collect them with the visa in 5 days and gave us a time to come back.
Now all you have to do is wait. Hang around Hanoi for 5 days, enjoy some of the fantastic street food, drink a few bia hois, soak up the atmosphere and then pick up your visa ready for your adventure in incredible India…easy!
(Note: We got our visas in November 2016, but as far as we’re aware this information is still correct).
