Travel to India: Indian Visa for newborn babies
Every Indian resident in U.S. must have an Indian visa to visit India. Newborn babies are no exception to this. If you are travelling abroad your baby will need his own visa. In other words, travel to India without the Indian visa is impossible for a newborn baby.
This article describes the process of applying for an Indian visa for a newborn baby in U.S. We assume that
- You have already applied for a U.S. birth certificate and SSN for the newborn baby.
- You have applied for a U.S. passport for the newborn baby.
- You understand that your child is a U.S. citizen by birth.
- As a U.S. citizen your baby has to have a US passport to enter US again.
Options for Indian visa for the newborn baby
To visit India with your newborn baby, you have the following options:
- Apply for the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) Card for the newborn baby.
- Apply for the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card for the newborn baby
- Apply for a tourist visa to India for 6 months. You will not need a visa for the baby to enter US as she is already a US citizen holding a valid US passport.
Between the PIO and the OCI card, it is better to apply for the PIO card for the newborn baby. With a PIO card, your new born baby will not need a separate tourist visa, student visa or employment visa for visiting India. However, the PIO cards are issued for 15 years only. The OCI card allows a multiple entry, multi-purpose life- long visa to visit India.
Once you get the passport for your baby, you should immediately apply for PIO (Person of India Origin) card at the Indian Embassy. The processing time may take up to 3 -6 weeks. When you have both the new US passport and the PIO card for the baby you can visit India.
Applying for the PIO Card
- The cost is $ 185 (for children upto the age of 18 years).
- Fee is non-refundable.
- Extra charges for return mailing services are $20.
- Some Consulates accept Debit Cards with a service charge of $3.00 (three) at the counter in addition to money orders and cashier's checks.
- Personal checks, credit cards or other banking instruments are not accepted.
- If you are sending a mail application to an Indian Consulate:
- check the rules as described on the Consulate website.
- Do not submit a non-track able return mailing envelope. You can get a track able return mailing envelope at Fedex, UPS, USPS, etc.
- The Consulate prefers to maintain high traceability of these documents after dispatch. It will also help you to know where your PIO Card is.
For PIO and OCI services at the Indian Consulates and Embassy offices in U.S. please check the table below. The Consular jurisdiction shows what Consulate applies to you. For example if you are in Georgia, you will have to apply to the Indian Consulate at Houston.
Embassy/Consulates |
Address/Contact information |
Consular Jurisdiction |
2536 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, |
Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South- Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, DC. |
|
3 East, 64th Street, New York, NY 10021,USA |
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virgin Islands. |
|
455 North Cityfront Plaza Drive, #850 Chicago, IL 60611, U.S.A., Tel(312) 595-0405 |
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin. |
|
1990 Post Oak Blvd. Suite 600 Houston, TX 77056 Tel: (713) 626-2355 Fax: (713) 626-2450, |
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas. |
|
540 Arguello Boulevard San Francisco, CA 94118 Tel: (415) 668-0662 | Fax: (415) 668-7968 |
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming. |
