Diplomatic Visa in India: Eligibility, Application Process, & Fees Required

With the growing spree of cross-border travelling and globalisation, securing a visa is mandatory for individuals who move abroad for better opportunities. The Indian government offers diplomatic visas to foreigners willing to have them, among various types of visas. The concept of issuing such visas in India started in 2015.

Are you willing to find out more about a diplomatic visa? Then, this article will give you a detailed guide regarding the same.

You must be curious to know what a diplomatic visa means. A diplomatic visa can only be granted to foreigners who possess diplomatic passports. Such visas are required for people visiting foreign countries to serve diplomatic activities of a government.

Every country has certain people to handle the diplomatic activities of the government. Additionally, they are responsible for maintaining diplomatic relations with other countries. Therefore, only such people are entitled to have such a passport. However, if a government temporarily hires an employee for a particular mission abroad, they can receive such a passport.

As you can probably guess, not everyone can get a diplomatic visa. It is a complex type of visa, and a regular passport holder cannot get it for visiting a foreign country. They must meet the following eligibility criteria.

• The applicant must possess a Diplomatic/Official passport of his/her own country.
• Foreign nationals who possess diplomatic/Official passports and are currently residing in India can apply for this visa.

Now that you know the meaning of a diplomatic visa, you must be curious to know the steps to apply for it. These are listed below.

Step 1: Visit the official website of Indian Visa Online. Click on the ‘Regular/Paper Visa Application’ icon.

Step 2: On the new page, click on ‘REGULAR/PAPER VISA APPLICATION’. Then, start filling out the online application form.

Step 3: Enter your details, and select ‘Diplomatic visa’ under the option of visa type.

Step 4: Upload the required documents. Finally, click on submit and note your application ID for future references.

Now that you know what a diplomatic visa is, you should know about the documents you need for the application process. These documents are as follows.

• A passport with validity for the next six months
• Two recent passport style photographs
• A printed copy of the application form
• Invitation letter from India
• Proof of address
• Diplomatic/Official passport after receiving information receipt from CPV

The processing time for an Indian diplomatic visa is much less than a regular visa. The government takes only about 4-5 working days to process and verify the application before approving it. Moreover, the government does not charge any processing or service fee for a diplomatic visa. Hence, one can obtain it without paying any charges.

Thus, as this article observed, getting a diplomatic visa is only applicable to those with a diplomatic passport. They must have legit diplomatic duty and purpose to serve in India to get such a visa. Those who have such a passport can apply for a diplomatic visa and obtain it if they meet the eligibility criteria.