5

I have booked a 61 day trip to India but the E-TOURIST VISA is only 60 days. I arrive at 11:40 pm on the first day so wouldn't get through customs until the next day anyway, making it a 60 day trip. Would this be okay?

RedBaron
  • 4,353
  • 2
  • 26
  • 39
Dominic Watters
  • 51
  • 1
  • And if the flight were to arrive early? Or Immigration (miraculously, I suppose) be quicker? – Traveller Apr 25 '19 at 09:25
  • 8
    I believe similar questions have been asked several times. When it comes to passport control, you can just loiter a bit to make sure you are there after midnight. But you may have an issue with the airline not allowing you to board if you visa is not yet valid (not sure if that applies in this specific case). Also, not having any margin at all in case of issues (if your return flight is delayed or cancelled) does not seem like a very safe choice. I would recommend you either shorten your trip a bit, or get a visa that allows for more time, if that's possible. – jcaron Apr 25 '19 at 09:41
  • @Traveller Loitering between arriving and going through immigration control might be seen as suspicious. – David Richerby Apr 25 '19 at 11:48
  • 1
    @jcaron That should be an answer. – David Richerby Apr 25 '19 at 11:48
  • @DavidRicherby I'm not 100% positive that in the specific case of the India E-Tourist Visa they won't be checking the arrival time and only take into account the time you go through passport control, so I can't make it an answer. It's more the general case in similar situations in other countries. Also, I have the feeling this is a duplicate (though I'm a bit too lazy right now to find the duplicate). – jcaron Apr 25 '19 at 11:52
  • @DavidRicherby just take your time exiting the plane (wait for everybody else to deplane first rather than hurrying to the door), take your time walking to immigration rather than sprint to be the first in line, go to the toilets if any are available between the plane and immigration... Unless the flight is 2 hours early, which is unlikely, it really shouldn't be difficult to delay going through immigration for quite a bit... – jcaron Apr 25 '19 at 11:56
  • No, the time they count is at immigration. So after Immigration you are in transit zone so just go to immigration couple of hours before. – N Randhawa Apr 25 '19 at 11:59
  • 1
    @NRandhawa in most countries, the only hour that matters is midnight. (I'm not sure if that's also true in India.) Delaying the arrival at 23:40 by 20 minutes is probably more feasible than passing out of the country before midnight the day before the scheduled departure, unless the scheduled departure is before 4 or 5 AM. – phoog Apr 25 '19 at 13:22
  • Indeed: in most places, the rule is that a 60-day visa means you may be in the country on up to 60 calendar days. So, if you arrive (or pass through immigration) at 2340, that's your first day. When midnight comes, you're on your second day, etc. – David Richerby Apr 25 '19 at 15:43

1 Answers1

6

Regardless of whether you can do this, it's not a good idea. You've left yourself no flexibility at all to deal with problems at the end of your trip.

Flight home cancelled or significantly delayed? You've overstayed your visa. Late to the airport and missed your flight? You've overstayed your visa. On time to the airport but security was crazy that day and you missed your flight? You've overstayed your visa. Get sick and end up in hospital? You've overstayed your visa. Get sick enough to want to get over it before you fly? You can't because you'd be overstaying your visa.

Most countries are able to be accommodating if you have a genuine reason for overstaying but, of the ones I've suggested above, only "I was sick in hospital" is likely to be accepted. Anything else falls under "It's your own fault for trying to leave at the last minute, even though people miss flights and get sick all the time." (For example, here's what happens in the USA.) But even if you can get your stay extended due to some kind of emergency situation, this is likely to be a huge hassle.

David Richerby
  • 18,624
  • 13
  • 63
  • 108
  • Related (for the United States): https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/109991/what-happens-if-im-forced-to-overstay-in-the-u-s-because-my-flight-is-delayed – gparyani Apr 25 '19 at 12:53
  • @gparyani Good point -- I've added that link. – David Richerby Apr 25 '19 at 13:04
  • 3
    Even if the reason for overstaying the visa is acceptable, having to explain it to the authorities and get them to accept it will be a hassle, and in some cases could be a major headache. – phoog Apr 25 '19 at 13:26
  • Some countries (such as South Africa) are unlikely to accept any excuse at all, even being in hospital. We've seen a few stories here of people who overstayed because they were in hospital in SA and were given entry bans when they exited the country. – Michael Hampton Apr 25 '19 at 15:14
  • @phoog Another good point, which I forgot to make while writing my answer (honest!). Edited. – David Richerby Apr 25 '19 at 15:40