Longer extensions must be approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The process of applying for one can give you a bit of a grace period while they consider it. It’s important to note that if you stay in the country illegally beyond the period of your visa, you may face fines, deportation and/or up to five years in prison.

Visa conversions and extensions are handled by the MHA only between 10 A.M. and noon, Monday to Friday. The address for the main office is Foreigners’ Division, MHA, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi. If you want to change your visa status from one category to another, you should go in person to the office. In case of serious illness, you can send a representative. If you aren’t in Delhi, go to the nearest Foreigners’ Registration Office (FRO), which will forward your case to the MHA for approval. Applications for extensions or conversions should be made a few months before your current visa expires, if possible.

In general, you can’t change the category of your visa while you are in India; e.g., if you are in India on a Tourist Visa, you can’t just decide to take up a job. In such a case, you have to go back to your own country to apply for a new visa. The MHA does have the authority to give you a different visa if there are extraordinary circumstances, but they rarely do it.

PIO Cards and OCI Status- If your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents were Indian nationals, or if you are the spouse of an Indian citizen or PIO, or if you once held an India passport, you can get a PIO (Person of Indian Origin) Card that is valid for 15 years. This card allows visa-free entry to PIOs living abroad, but you do have to register if you stay more than 180 days.

There is also a status called Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) that is available to PIOs or others who either are or were eligible for Indian citizenship at a certain time. This is not dual citizenship. Rather, it’s essentially a permanent visa that allows you to come and go as you wish and to stay as long as you like without registering. It gives you most of the privileges enjoyed by Indian citizens, except that you can’t vote, buy agricultural land, or hold certain public offices.

Exit Visa- If your passport is lost or stolen; you have gone to the FRRO so you can get your visa transferred to the new passport. Or you can get an Exit Visa, which will allow you a certain number of days in which to leave the country legally. Without one or the other, you won’t be able to leave India. To get an Exit Visa, you need to present your new passport, a letter from your embassy giving details of the lost or stolen passport, and the original police report, as well as proof of date of entry into India (i.e., your boarding pass, a letter from the airline on which you arrived verifying date and place for your arrival in India, or a photocopy of your visa and entry stamp).

Special Permits- In order to visit certain restricted or protected areas, including the Andaman Islands, Lakshadweep, parts of Ladakh, and some of the Northeastern States, you will need a special permit. Some permits (excluding Inner Line permits for border areas of Ladakh, which take only a day) may take a week or two to get, so you should apply well in advance. You can get permits come Sikkim from embassies and consulates abroad before you come, or the Foreigners’ Registration Offices in India, and in Darjeeling and Siliguri, as well as at certain major airports.

It is very obvious that when you want to settle in vibrant countries like Canada or Australia, you are keen to have your visa processed at a faster pace. In case of the temporary visas, you can do nothing but depend upon the employer to complete his job related formalities. But, when it comes to processing of permanent residency visas, the ball is always in your court. Permanent resident visas of these countries are issued considering the points applicant can score under respective immigration system. These points are often affected by time, age, work experience, education, spouse skills etc., and these factors eventually effect the success of the visa application. To ensure that your process is smooth and at a faster pace, here are three most important tips to be followed.

Tip No. 1: Apply at the right time-
It may seem astonishing to read but time is certainly a crucial factor in PR visa application. Under the time factor, application can be affected in the following manners:

• Age: At the time of your application, if you are young you are more successful. This is because these countries have a high demand for professionals who are young (preferably 18yrs-25 yrs). Hence, to settle in Canada or Australia by getting yourself a higher preference and also great career prospects, apply when you are in your most demanded age range.
• Peak Months: According to research, the best time to apply for Australia immigration is in the months of February and July. These two months are considered peak time for submitting Australia immigration. It is said that often applications during these peak months are associated with higher success results.
• Intake Periods: Several provinces or States migration programs of each country have specific intake periods of PNP/State nomination applications. Keeping the nomination applications ready before these intake periods often results in quicker intake, improving chances for a quick visa.

Tip No. 2: Boost your CRS Score-
You may be aware of the fact that Canada & Australia have an immigration system that operates through a points based structure. Candidate’s eligibility as well as success for an international permanent residency status majorly depends on how well he can score under the points based system. If you believe that your score is hindering the success of your application, here are some ways by which you can improve your points.

• • Improve qualification: To improve your score, the best and easiest thing you can do is improve your qualification. If you a graduate, a higher degree will eventually increase your score and preferences for selection. Likewise, any certification or diploma that boosts your nominated occupations will also be a good step towards a score improvement.
  • Enhance work experience: Highest work experience candidates get good points under Canada and Australia’s points based system. If you have a chance to improve your work experience before your application or while your application is in process, go ahead, work hard and update. This may eventually increase your score and chances for a quicker visa.
  • Re-attempt IELTS: To become an international permanent resident, applicants must prove their proficiency level in the English language. For this IELTS is mandatory. As an applicant, if your IELTS score is what is delaying the process or getting you less score, re-attempt your IELTS. The best suggestion for improved results is to go for an expert help in preparation for IELTS.
  • Include Partner Skills: If your spouse or common law partner is accompanying your immigration, it is best to include his/her skills in the application, provided that she/he is eligible. This is because PR visa applicants are allotted with additional points for partner skills and this eventually increases points.

Try State/Province Nomination: If you meet the eligibility requirements of a respective State or Province, applying for a State Nomination increase will increase your points and also boost your chance for quick visa success.

Tip No. 3: Get Expert Assistance-
Despite all your efforts, if you are still unable to fetch those great points to buck-up your process, then you may missing something that only an expert eye can catch. Get in touch with your city’s best immigration experts and get counseled about the aspects that will help you in your application. Since immigration experts are up-to date and have hands on experience in processing thousands of visa cases, they will help you analyze the loopholes of your case (if any) and show you ways towards a quicker success.

Here’s a situation: A and B, both Filipinos, went to the United States to get married. After several years, marital troubles started to occur between the couple and after efforts at reconciliation failed, the two started to part ways. They figured that since they were married in abroad, they decided to get a divorce in the US.

Upon return to the Philippines, after obtaining a decree of divorce, A and B mutually divided their properties between them and went their separate ways. Now, here’s where it gets tricky: Apparently, A incurred debts after their ‘divorce’. And now creditors are after not just A’s properties but also that B’s, which left the latter distraught. Is this even possible? Yes.

First things first: Divorce is NOT applicable to Filipinos. Even if the couple successfully obtains a decree of divorce, the same is VOID in the Philippines. In effect, in the eyes of the law, the couple is still legally bound as husband and wife.

Art. 15, otherwise known as the Nationality Principle, of the New Civil Code provides:

Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad.

Given this, the creditors may go after the property of B as the same forms part of the community property of with A. After all, they are still a married couple.

However, Divorce obtained outside the country, may, in certain instances, be recognized in the Philippines. How?

Article 26 of the Family Code, reads:

All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines in accordance with the laws in force in the country where they were solemnized, and valid there as such, shall also be valid in this country, except those prohibited under Articles 35(1), (4), (5) and (6), 36, 37 and 38.

Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine law.

What makes this provision applicable to Filipinos are the presence of the following elements:

1. That the there is a valid marriage between a Filipino and a foreigner.
2. That the alien spouse obtains the divorce abroad and such decree capacitates him/her to remarry.

What if the Filipino later on became a naturalized foreign citizen, is this now applicable to him? It depends. In Republic vs. Orbecido III, the Supreme Court ruled that: “The reckoning point is not the citizenship of the parties at the time of marriage, but their citizenship at the time a valid divorce is obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating the latter to remarry.”