How to get a visa for India while in Chiang Mai
First things first. The requirements listed here HAVE to be followed in order to get your visa for India while in Chiang Mai. If you show up without these items or without starting the process online, they will turn you away until you follow these steps. The process will take 1 week from start to finish.
1. Go here and fill in the online application.
2. Take note of the purple/pink Temporary Application ID number at the top of the application when you start. This will allow you to finish the application where you left off if the website freezes or crashes (happened twice to me).
3. Submit the application shown above for online processing. This will get you an appointment date and time to show up at the Consulate of India in Chiang Mai. (I’ll give you directions and a map soon)
4. You need the following items when you show up to complete the initial process to get your India Visa:
- Passport with at least 6 months remaining before it expires.
- 2 passport photos in the 2″ x 2″ size. If you show up with the 1.5″ x 2″ photos, they will not accept them.
- 1 color copy of your passport.
- 1 copy (black and white is OK) of your Thailand Departure Card from the Thai Immigration Bureau.
- A copy of your Thai visa, OR, if you have a simple 30-day tourist visa stamp from the airport or 15-day visa stamp from a land border crossing, you will also need to have a copy of this stamp.
- Two references in India. These can just be two hotels, hostels, or bed and breakfasts you’re planning to stay at while you’re in India, but make sure to write down the addresses and telephone numbers before you head to the consulate because there is no way to look anything up while there.
- Permanent address shown in your passport and/or your current address in Chiang Mai. Again – your hotel, hostel, bed and breakfast information is OK.
- Your planned arrival date in India. The visa is valid from the time of issue so do the math correctly or your visa may not be valid for the time you need it.
- 3,170 baht (for U.S. citizens) which must be paid up-front at the time that you turn in all your paperwork and submit it for processing.
- This form (shown below) filled in – WITH ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. If you turn it in with lowercase letters, they will tell you to fill out another form. (You can either make one yourself on Microsoft Word / Mac Pages, or show up at the consulate and they will give you one)
5. Getting to the Consulate of India in Chiang Mai.
- Follow the map below and you can’t go wrong. It’s only a ten minute walk from the Train Station and about a 30 min walk from Tha Pae Gate.
You probably won’t see the sign from Thung Hotel Road because the sign that is right out on the road faces north, so it’s only visible while heading south. If you follow the map above (starting at the Tha Pae Gate), this is what you’ll see when approaching the consulate:
And here’s what the consulate looks like from the street:
If all goes well, and you follow the instructions above, you’ll end up with one of these in just 1 week:
This information is accurate as of January 2013. If I hear of updates from my traveling friends, I will certainly update as needed. Be well. And Namaste.
What was the most difficult visa for you to obtain? For American citizens, I hear that China and Russia rank very high on the list.
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29 Responses to “How to get a visa for India while in Chiang Mai”
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Thanks for the great post with so much info on the visa process. We plan on tackling this in a couple of weeks. Quick question if you know – you mention getting an appointment date – since I will only be in Chiang Mai for a certain amount of time, how do I ensure the appointment is on a day I am in the city? Can you request to change it? Thanks!
Hi Liz. How did your VISA process go? It took me 1 week from start to finish to get my India VISA while in Chiang Mai.
I heard you can only apply for three month visas here, is that true? I’m looking for go to India for six months and would like to do my visa work in Chiang Mai
Chris, you can apply for any length you’d like while in Chiang Mai. A traveling friend of mine – Derek – has some good info on India here: http://www.wanderingearl.com/how-much-it-costs-to-travel-in-india/ …I didn’t use the website or service he said US citizens are required to use and didn’t have any problems at all.
Are you sure I can get a 6 month Via in Chang Mai? I am from UK
Yes, you can get a 6 month Indian Visa from the Indian Consulate in Chiang Mai (assuming you follow their procedures, have the appropriate paperwork, and pay the necessary fee). P.s. Sorry for the delay in response, I’ve been away for a bit. Happy traveling and have a wonderful time in India!
Hello, did you have to show your round trip ticket?
Cindy,
I only had a 1-way ticket from Kathmandu, Nepal into New Delhi, India so to answer your question, no, I didn’t have to show them a round trip ticket OR a ticket showing arrival AND departure into and out of India. It would probably help streamline the process, but in my case, it didn’t seem to matter. I was OK without it.
AJ thanks for the detailed information on getting a visa through the Indian Embassy in Chiang Mai. It worked like a charm and you advise was spot on. Very important to have your travel plan and reference in India. The embassy will not budge on the required reference and travel plans. Regards Wayne
I’m glad I was able to share my experience and help so many people. I also know sometimes they update or change their VISA process, so if there’s anything I can add to the info I posted, please feel free to share and I will make sure it gets added to the post. Thank you for stopping by and I wish you safe travels and a wonderful time in India. It’s an amazing place! Be well and namaste Wayne.
Hello, i’m from france and wish a 6 months visa for india. I read your infos but to be sure i called the indian consulate in chiang mai and they told me they only do up to 3 months visa, very strange. i know sometimes consulates lie about visa like for the double entry to thailand in laos, when you call them they say they don’t do it but then they give it once in vientiane. is it the same story in chiang mai at the indian consulate?
Hi Marcus,
I personally did not get a 6 month visa for India, so I don’t have any experience with getting that long of a visa while in Chiang Mai. However, a couple people I talked to while I was getting mine DID get 6-month visa’s there in Chiang Mai at the same time.
Ty i finally went to bkk and got six months double entry no problem. Already in india
take care
Excellent! Enjoy your time there Alex! I’d love to hear about your adventures some day.
Thank you for all the very helpful information on the process for getting a visa for India. A couple of updates to the process…
- Bring a copy of your confirmation for where you are staying showing a confirmation number and your name. Addreses and phone numbers are not enough. (If you don’t have a place to stay, book anything to get this information and then cancel it.)
- If you are staying with someone or have listed an individual as a reference, you will need a copy of a signed letter from them indicating they welcome you to India, accompanied by a copy of their passport and visa (or if Indian citizen a copy of their passport or other identification such as a drivers card)
Also, you don’t have to wait until the specific time on your application to show up. Just show up between 9 and 12 (closer to 9 is better). And be absolutely meticulous about everything you put on the application, once it is submitted, there is absolutely no changing it.
Again, thank you!
Happy travels!
WOW! It sounds like they’ve gotten much more strict with their process. Thank you for sharing this updated info!!
The Ch M Consulate told me Fri. 12/13/13 that they now needed a confirmed hotel booking. The BKK site also says return ticket. Advise please…
The Indian Consulate in Chiang Mai didn’t need a confirmed hotel booking when I filed for mine, nor did they need a return ticket so this must be a new requirement.
I am a Canadian in Thailand. Is it possible to get a visa for India in 1 to 3 days?
It will take 1 week to get your VISA. It cannot be done in 1-3 days.
Do you know if they changed the procedure ? Can i submit my application in person in CM or do i have to send it to Bangkok? thanks kindly
You can apply and submit in Chiang Mai.
Hi guys, hoping someone can help us. We are leaving for chang mai in a few days to get our indian visa sorted. We have or can obtain all of the above apart from we don’t have our departure cards? I have been here 3 times and I always loose them with it never being an issue – surely we can still obtain a visa without it?
Also my partner is on a temporary passport, I haven’t seen anywhere stating they wont supply a visa on one but if anyone knows different please let me know!
xx
Do everything you can to take every piece of paperwork possible. If you don’t have something you need, more than likely you will be turned away or denied an Indian Visa.
i got my indian visa today and noticed that my visa has no official stamp and signature as compared to the picture shown above. the white box on the right side of the visa has my black and white picture instead. meaning i have two pictures in one visa.
do you think i should go back and ask for a stamp and signature?
Without a stamp and signature, I would definitely go back and make sure it’s “official” and will work when you arrive in India.
Prepare to go in, get denied, and try again later.
My husband and my experience at the consulate today was not good; as every single person we observed applying for a visa was turned away.
We followed all paperwork instructions; we were turned away because some of the visa stamps in my husband’s passport (from years ago) had gotten smudged from water. They are VERY strict.
Another woman was denied because she could not produce the name of every place she was staying during her 6-month stay…..the man’s rationale (which everyone could hear because they interview each applicant with an open door and are seemingly yelling) was that he wanted to confirm that she was really going for tourism. How could he know if she was going for so long?
Wow! Sounds like things have gotten quite a bit more strict since I was there to apply and receive mine.
I’m glad you liked it and that it helped you. Safe travels and enjoy!