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Visa Issues

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2017 9:55 pm
by aburr
Hi ISR Community,

So my wife and I recently accepted a dream job in India. We're super excited about it! A few issues we're having, though, that I'm hoping everyone here can help with.

We're currently employed by a school in China and are coming to the end of our 2-year contract. In order to get an Indian visa, we thought we could simply go through the Indian Embassy in Beijing, but we were told very explicitly that is not a possibility because, according to multiple officials at the embassy, an applicant for an Indian visa at the Beijing Embassy must have lived in China for a full 2 years by the date of the application. By the date of the application, which is right around now, we would have lived in China for approximately 1 year and 8 months. We were told that we must apply through an embassy in our home country- USA.

So, we found out that to apply through our home country, we must fill out an application with a company called CKGS and they would forward the application to the Indian Embassy in whichever American city we would like. We called CKGS before we started and discussed the particulars and were told that the only problem might be that they cannot accept our passports through mail sent from China. We asked if we could mail our PP's to a family member with an American address and were told that should be okay.

That was all a few weeks ago. Now, after filling out all the documents, notarizing, and everything, we called CKGS one last time to ensure that everything we had was correct before we mail off everything to the US. We're now told that this company, per regulations setup by the Indian Embassy, do not accept applications from persons living abroad. We were told that we must be currently residing in the US in order to get approved. To be sure, we have a permanent US address, and that is all that their application ever asked for. Nowhere was it stated that we must be physically residing in the US in order to get a visa, but now we have come to this block. We have emailed our new school's HR and the guy we discussed this with is seeing if he can get an exception made for us since we are in a bureaucratic black hole, but I certainly don't know for sure what might happen from this.

Does anybody have any experience with these types of issues? We don't want to be denied on our application because that sticks with you on your record and we most certainly don't want to lose these great jobs due to this type of silliness. I'm probably panicking for no good reason, but any help would be appreciated! :)

Response

Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2017 10:58 pm
by PsyGuy
Whoever the friend or family member that you are using for your visa service is now your actual address. You reside there and are applying though that address. Send the friend your visa packet in an already addressed and stamped envelope inside the envelope addressed to the friend. When they get it they open it and just drop the packet in the mail. When its done and processed and they get it back they put the documents and passports into another envelope which you have included to in the original envelope to the friend and they mail them to you.

Re: Visa Issues

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 1:17 am
by Lastname_Z
What PsyGuy said. In general, I always use my parent's address in my home country for any sort of visa stuff. You should do the same.

The more simple and straightforward your life looks on formal documentation, the less issues you will run into.

Another idea: Could you not apply for a conventional tourist visa (which can be acquired online without any hassle) and change it to a work visa while you're there?

Discussion

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 1:35 am
by PsyGuy
@Lastname_Z

I thought the same thing (apply for a tourist visa and convert it), but the LW has already contacted the IS and if that was a reasonable option than thats what the HR rep would have advised doing. My impression is that either the IS cant/wont convert a tourist visa or it cant be converted (at least for them). The scenario has already progressed to a point where too much has already been documented and initiated. If the LW had contacted the forum earlier some of the complexity of the issue could have been avoided.

Re: Visa Issues

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 9:17 am
by shadowjack
Or, the minute you finish in China it is flight home and visa applications in.

Re: Visa Issues

Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2019 10:19 pm
by Dedicated
How did you eventually resolve your situation?