Travelling to India on British Passport

[ilr_dependent]

My wife is planning to travel to India in the 1st Week of December have booked the return tickets as well.
Her current situation is she has received her british passport 1 week ago and her Indian passport have been marked cancelled and returned back.
So currently not enough time to surrender the Indian passport and get a valid OCI Passport within 4 weeks.

-Naturalisation date 4th Aug 2021
-Received British Passport - 30 Oct 2021
-Existing Indian passport - Cancelled Status


The Only option is to apply for Indian Visa.
The E-visa route for india is not open for UK citizens yet, however it has been published in many websites that the e-visa route for UK citizens will be opened from 15th Nov 2021.
For regular paper based application there is no clarity on the timelines and the appointments are not available in next 2-3 weeks.

Please suggest if the E-visa route is still a valid option to rely on from 15th Nov.
And what other options do i have.

like
-travelling on cancelled indian passport and paying fine

Also how authentic are the other unofficial websites offering E-visa services.
https://e-visa.co.uk/india/apply

[rainbowbutterfly]

You cannot travel to India on a cancelled Indian passport. You either have to opt for
1. OCI (you won't get in time for travel)
2. Entry visa (2 weeks wait time and 2 days to get it, provided they are convinced about the urgency)
3. E-Visa - possibly opens on 16th Nov -- looks like this is your best bet given the limited time you have to sort out the paperwork.

[secret.simon]

Also how authentic are the other unofficial websites offering E-visa services.
https://e-visa.co.uk/india/apply

The same website also states,

Travellers with United Kingdom nationality
For the time being, the online visa application procedure for India is not available for travellers with United Kingdom nationality. They will have to use the old application procedure for paper visas (sticker visas). These are more expensive than electronic visas, and the application process is more time-consuming and complicated. A paper visa for India can be applied for at VFS Global. It is not yet known if and when British travellers will again be able to use the online application procedure for the e-visa for India.

-travelling on cancelled indian passport and paying fine

That may not be an option.

Keep in mind that the airline staff may not allow your wife to board the flight. Your wife will need to show a valid visa or right to land in India before she can even get onto the flight.

[ilr_dependent]

You cannot travel to India on a cancelled Indian passport. You either have to opt for
1. OCI (you won't get in time for travel)
2. Entry visa (2 weeks wait time and 2 days to get it, provided they are convinced about the urgency)
3. E-Visa - possibly opens on 16th Nov -- looks like this is your best bet given the limited time you have to sort out the paperwork.

Many Thanks for your guidance , really appreciate

[ilr_dependent]

Also how authentic are the other unofficial websites offering E-visa services.
https://e-visa.co.uk/india/apply

The same website also states,

Travellers with United Kingdom nationality
For the time being, the online visa application procedure for India is not available for travellers with United Kingdom nationality. They will have to use the old application procedure for paper visas (sticker visas). These are more expensive than electronic visas, and the application process is more time-consuming and complicated. A paper visa for India can be applied for at VFS Global. It is not yet known if and when British travellers will again be able to use the online application procedure for the e-visa for India.

-travelling on cancelled indian passport and paying fine

That may not be an option.

Keep in mind that the airline staff may not allow your wife to board the flight. Your wife will need to show a valid visa or right to land in India before she can even get onto the flight.

Thanks a lot for the Info