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I visited India with my family three years ago. Since then, four of the five of us have received new passports, and we don't have all of the old ones. The Indian e-Tourist visa application asks whether you have ever been to India, and if so, what your previous visa number was. How can I fill out this form, since I don't have the previous visa numbers for all of my family?

Edit: This is not a unique situation by any stretch, but India is its own country, and the electronic tourist visa application presents its own problems, since it's an online form (and not the most user-friendly online form). So I think a more specific question is warranted. When I was trying to figure this out, the various “Just explain the situation” answers available elsewhere online did not set my mind at ease.

adam.baker
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  • The problem is that that question recommends writing out an explanation, but for the electronic tourist visa there is no such opportunity. – adam.baker Dec 21 '16 at 09:08
  • But it's not the same question, because my question is about the electronic tourist visa, which only became available a year after that question was asked (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_India#e-Tourist_Visa). That question is about filling out a form online that you then print off and take to an embassy or consulate. – adam.baker Dec 21 '16 at 09:22
  • @JonathanReez, you edited another question so that it would become a duplicate of this one? Well done, sir. – adam.baker Dec 22 '16 at 05:43

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The web site allowed me to type “Unknown” into the field for the previous visa application. We were granted our visas within about 24 hours of submitting the application.

In our particular case, we had the previous visa number for three of our five family members. I was also able to fill in the issue date for all of the passports, since I knew that they had all been granted on the same day. I don't know whether these things were a factor in the decision to grant our visas.

I had to fill out five separate applications, and (judging from the timestamps of the emails) the visas were granted over a period of an hour and a half. That suggests to me that the visas were processed separately. That in turn suggests that writing “Unknown” isn't a very big deal.

adam.baker
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