Lost Your Visa in India? Here’s What You Must Do

Traveling internationally is always fun, and when it comes to India, things get even better. This opens the door for new experiences and helps you learn more about the world that we live in. Most important of all, this helps in enriching our minds and souls in a country that is too rich in heritage. 

However, this fun and fulfilling trip can quickly turn into a stressful one if you end up losing something important, specifically a document like a visa. Losing your Indian visa for Saudi citizens or whichever country during the trip can put you in a tough spot. This is why you need to stay alert regarding what you should do in a similar situation. This helps in effectively managing the situation, making it easier for you to solve it. 

Steps to Follow 

Losing your Indian visa for Russian citizens or any other nationality while you are still in a foreign land can create a domino effect of multiple issues. Situations like these require a proper plan. Otherwise, you can end up making more mistakes that will complicate the situation even more. Some of the steps that you should follow after experiencing a similar situation are: 

Stay Calm and Assess the Situation

The first thing that you will be required to do when you find yourself in a similar situation is to stay calm and avoid acting frantically. Stressing over this situation will not help you in any way. Rather, this will complicate the situation even more. So, it is best to sit down and employ your brain to think about how you can improve the situation. 

Moreover, you should double-check all your belongings, including the small backpack or handbag that you were carrying during sightseeing. Basically, the point is to ensure you have truly lost your visa and it is nowhere to be found. After that, you will have to look for the digital copies of your visa in your email, cloud storage, or smartphone. 

The last and undoubtedly the most important step in this assessment is to identify where and how the visa was lost. You should try to understand if this is a case of theft, misplacement, or accidental damage.  

Report the Loss to Local Authorities

The next thing that you will be required to do during this process is take the matter to the local authorities. They will be the ones who will be able to guide you about the initial steps that you can take at this time of crisis. 

Start the reporting process by visiting the nearest police station from your hotel, hostel, or wherever you are staying. If you face difficulty in finding the police station, then you can simply look it up on the internet. Every locality in an Indian metro city has its police station, so you will not face any difficulty in finding one. 

After you reach the station, you will have to file a First Information Report (FIR) that properly describes the situation. Filing the FIR is a must in this situation, as this serves as the most prominent piece of evidence to prove your loss. Otherwise, the authorities might think that you were trying to illegally stay in the country without having an Indian visa for Russian citizens, Americans, or any other nationality. Once you have filed your FIR, you will have to get multiple copies of it as it will be used in the further processes. 

Contact Your Embassy or Consulate  

Once you have filed an FIR at your nearest police station, you will have to visit the nearest embassy or consulate of your country in India. For instance, if you had an Indian visa for Saudi citizens, then you would have to visit the Saudi Embassy in Delhi or the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Mumbai. You can simply search for the exact location of these places if you face any difficulty in finding them. In case you are not visiting these cities, then you will have to book a domestic flight or take a train to these cities from the place where you are visiting. 

Once you reach the embassy or consulate of your country, you will be required to share a few documents required for the visa replacement or getting an emergency visa. Some of the documents that you will have to provide are your passport, FIR report, travel itinerary with proofs like bills and hotel check-ins, and identity proof. However, if you have also lost your passport along with the visa, then you will have to provide a copy of it. Moreover, you might also have to offer something more if the authorities direct you to do so. 

Apply for a Replacement Visa  

The next thing that you will have to do on losing your Indian visa for Russian citizens or other nationalities is to apply for a replacement visa. The steps for applying for a duplicate or temporary visa are pretty simple. Some of the steps that you will be required to follow are:

Go to the portal: Visit the online visa application portal. 

Complete the application: Fill out the form properly and provide all accurate details regarding the situation and your visa. 

Upload documents: Attach the documents required for the process and ensure that all of these are in PDF or JPEG format to match the requirements of the process. 

Make payment: Pay the fee that is required to get a replacement visa through your preferred payment method. You can use your credit or debit card to pay this fee amount.

Submit and wait: Submit the application and wait for some time for the application to get accepted. 

Arrange for Financial and Travel Assistance 

Once you have applied for your replacement Indian visa for Saudi citizens of other nationalities, you will have to move on to the other aspects of the trip. The next thing that you should do is notify your travel insurance provider if you already have one. Travel insurance providers help you manage the additional cost of getting a new visa by offering coverage for it (depending on the terms and conditions of your travel insurance policy). However, if you do not have insurance, then you will just have to reach out to your country’s embassy to get some help regarding the emergency funds.

Monitor Visa Status and Immigration Rules  

The next thing on the list is to constantly keep on checking the visa application while you wait for it to get accepted. On top of that, you should also ensure you don’t overstay your visa while waiting for a replacement. If your visa expires before you receive the replacement, follow your original travel plans and exit the country. Otherwise, that might get you arrested for unlawful activities. Most important of all, you should be well aware of the immigration rules and check with Indian immigration for any additional formalities that should be done from your end. 

Preventive Measures for Future Travel  

This experience will be enough for you to know how important it is to take proper care of your travel documents during a trip. However, staying aware will not be enough. Rather, you will also have to follow a few preventive measures to ensure this situation does not arise during your future travels. Some of the things that you will be required to follow are: 

• Remember to always keep digital and physical copies of your travel documents, like passport and Indian visa for Russian citizens or other nationalities. 
• Next time you travel, you should use a travel pouch or money belt to keep the documents. This will help keep all your valuable things safe and lower the chances of theft or misplacement.
• Get travel insurance if you did not get one for your current trip. This will help you in handling sudden issues in a better way.

Additional Resources and Contacts 

Keeping a few contacts handy helps in managing situations in a better way. So, save these numbers on your phone in case of any emergencies.  

• The emergency number in India is 112, this is both for police and general emergencies. Another helpline number for Indian police is 100. The women’s helpline number in India is 1091.  
• Contact the helpdesk for visa-related help and travel advisory.  

Feeling Confident to Tactfully Deal With a Situation of a Lost Visa? 

Losing your Indian visa for Russian citizens or any other nationalities can be extremely stressful. However, the best trick to deal with this situation is to stay calm and follow all the necessary steps that we listed out for you. This will help you to avoid additional stress or escalate the situation to the worst. On top of that, this will also help you in getting your replacement visa promptly so that you get to go back to your country.