Visas can be overwhelming when planning travel, with most people handing it over to agents for support. What we realized over multiple trips is that it is best done by yourself. The rejection rates when left to agents can be high in case you don’t go to reliable ones, in addition to inflated costs. We are listing some tips on managing visas on travel to make it a little less overwhelming
We tried to understand the process by traveling to countries offering visa free/ visa on arrival, before embarking on the ones that need loads of documentation. Southeast Asian countries are typically tourist friendly
Standard set of documents to keep handy on every visa interview include
- Passport
- Visa form
- Photo
- Cover letter describing your intent and any special conditions like group travel, additional buffer days before/after travel
- Flight tickets
- Hotel bookings
- Pay slips for last 3 months
- Insurance
- Income tax returns for last 2 years
- NOC from employer mentioning leave approval
- Vaccinations if required like polio/ yellow fever for African/ South American countries
Countries basis tourist visa type for Indians
Visa free countries for Indians
- Kazakhstan– 7 days
- Nepal
- In case you hold US B1/B2 Visa
- Peru– 180 days
- Chile– 90 days
Visa on arrival for Indians
- Bhutan – Preferable to apply in advance to avoid long queues and office closures on holidays
- Indonesia– 30 days
- Cambodia
- Laos: $30 on arrival, $50 for e-Visa
- Jordan, if you buy Jordan pass and stay for more than 3 days
Electronic permit/ registration prior to entry (no fee)
e-Visa to be applied before entry
With fee; In person visit not required
- Vietnam: $25, 90 days
- Egypt: $25, 30 days
- Uzbekistan: $20, 30 days
- Kenya: $30, 90 days
- Tanzania: $50, 90 days
- Turkey: $45, 30 days entry, 180 days validity; E-Visa possible if you have Schengen / UK/ US Visa
- Australia: AUD 190/ $125, 90 months
Visa application required before entry
- Countries where in-person visit is required
- Bolivia: $50, 30 days
- In person visit not required
- Japan: $20, 90 days; Some receive multiple entry upto 5 years
- Singapore: SGD 30, 30 days
- New Zealand: $250, 180 days
Country specific visa information
US Visa
Many agents promise lower waiting times, but they do not have any additional access to slots. In extreme cases, they end up blocking your account after sharing credentials if you don’t pay additional ad hoc amounts on demand. We highly recommend checking for slots at off hour like 10 PM or 6 AM.
US is becoming strict with appointments, restricting interview locations to India, checking social median handles and increasing fees. Wait time can be checked here.
Join telegram groups that notify bulk slot openings like US Visa Appointments Help and USB1B2 slot availability
You can install chrome extensions that notify you of availability. You can avoid logging in and wasting your chance of being blocked out due to multiple login attempts. Usually, 2-3 logins spread over the day is ok
Build sufficient travel history to countries like Japan, New Zealand, UK, Canada, European countries ideally before applying to US Visa. Establish sufficient ties to home country like employment letter/ fixed assets to give them comfort about your return. In person interviews are a must. Unlike other countries, US does not need supporting documents, so your confidence in answering questions, occupation, and travel history plays the most important part in decisioning
UK Visa
One of the easiest visas among developed countries. You don’t need to show flight bookings. They have monetized urgency and comfort to such an extent that you can pay more for higher validity (upto 10 years), get quick processing within a week in case of emergencies
Schengen visa
Relatively painful in terms of documentation required, given almost exhaustive list of having all documentation, bookings in place before applying and mandating in person submission for biometrics the first time
| US | UK | EU | Japan | Australia | New Zealand | |
| In person visit required | Yes | For 1st time biometrics | No No No | |||
| Flight/ hotel bookings required | No | Yes-> All the countries here | ||||
| Additional supporting docs required | No | Financials-> All countries here | ||||
Overall, build a travel history starting with nearby countries first where risk of rejection is close to zero. Extend a country beyond neighbors gradually
Happy travels!