Information for Getting Indian Visa
ANTS 2019 Conference participants should apply for a conference visa to attend the conference in Goa, India. Families of conference participants should apply for a tourist visa. To get accurate information about how to apply for the above visas please check the websites of the Indian consulates in your respective countries as the application process may vary between countries.
Some general points to note:
- For a conference visa, you will need an invitation letter from BITS, Pilani (the local host). Please fill this form to get the same. Invitation letters will only be issued to authors of accepted papers and registered participants.
- If you are a Foreign National of the “Prior Reference Category”, the visa process for you may be different and you may need further clearance documents. Prior Reference categories includes participants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan and Iraq, or foreigners of Pakistani Origin and Stateless Persons.
- Conference approval/clearance letter from Ministry of Home Affairs of India is no longer required to be produced to apply for a conference visa. Nonetheless it has been noticed that many Indian consulates may continue to ask for these. Thus, for abundant caution you can use copies of the following letter, in case you run into this problem
- Letter to all Indian Missions from Ministry of Home Affairs, stating that such clearance is not required if the event does not fall under a certain category.
- Finally, please note and confirm the following from your local consulates before deciding when you should apply for a conference visa
- Conference visa is generally issued for the duration of the conference and upto a maximum of 3 months.
- The conference visa is generally valid from the date of issue of the visa, not from the date of entry into India
- If you still face any issues the easier option is to apply for a tourist visa.