Marriage Certificate Attestation...and all the drama

So, on the 29th of May DH took our marriage certificate to the NRI/Home/Foreigner's office at Writer's Building here in Kolkata. He had written a letter to the Officer in Charge telling him that we needed the marriage certificate to be attested so we could get it apostiled at the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs). So, he submitted the letter along with 2 copies of our marriage certificate and was told to come back in 7 days. The NRI/Home/Foreigner's (N/H/F) office was to forward our file and request to the Marriage Registration office (MRO), where they would check our certificate against their duly registered copy. So...7 days later he went back to N/H/F and he got the file number.




The guy at the front desk gave him the file number, and told him to only go to the MRO after 7 days. DH nicely asked him why, and he was told that other's are coming in and getting their file number and right away going to the MRO and they are being told that they don't have the file and then they are returning to the N/H/F office and are complaining to their super's that they aren't doing their work. What really happens is that they post it to the MRO. Yes people, they MAIL it to a office that is within walking distance. Why, I have no clue.




So, DH waits the required 7 days and then goes to the MRO, where he is told that they have not received our file. They have received file numbers before and after ours, but not ours. So, DH then goes to the N/H/F office and asks what happened. He is told that our file was sent out the 31st, and then is sent to the Dispatch part of the office to see what happened. So, he goes, and they look through all their registers but do not find our file number anywhere in their records.




So, what happened you ask? Somewhere between their front desk and their dispatch office (a space of maybe 50 feet here people) our file was LOST. Yes, Lost.




So, DH goes back to the front desk and asks what he is supposed to do now. They give him their office copy and have him make a xerox of it...so he goes, and makes 5 copies. He returns to the N/H/F office, where they attest the copy of their original letter and he goes back to the MRO. Well, DH being DH, he goes to the bank first and deposits the Rs 1000 ($20USD) fee and gets the receipt. He goes back to the MRO and they are kind of miffed at him for already paying the fee because they tell you to come back in 3 days and submit the fee in case they can't find your certificate.




So, he gives the file and they tell him to come back in 7 days. At this point he asks if it possible for him to transport the file back to the N/H/F office since they lost our file last time, he is told no.




Fast forward 14 days, to yesterday. DH is sick and intending to go nowhere, but he has a hunch and so he goes to the MRO and finds out they have JUST finished our report that day. Well, lo and behold, they have him sign for the papers and give him their report (didn't they tell him no before? I'm seeing a pattern here...) and off he goes to the N/H/F office to get the officer to sign and stamp our marriage certificate. Well, our luck fades fast, as the officer who signs it is out of the office and we are told to come back in a day or two since he has taken leave.

So, now we are just waiting to go back to the N/H/F office to get our original marriage certificate signed and stamped and then we'll take it to MEA one morning and then pick it up in the evening, and then we'll make plans to head to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Delhi to get my visa sorted out. This whole attestation is needed for the FRRO here in Kolkata, but not needed for the visa conversion, as far as I know.




*Phew* I'm so glad the waiting game is over people.




For those who need to go through it in Kolkata here is a simplified list




NEED :




- 2 copies of Marriage Certificate

- Letter to Officer in Charge at NRI/Home/Foreigner's Office stating why you need it attested

- Rs 1000 demand draft from Reserve Bank (to be given to MRO)




Steps : (as it should be done, not as we did it...)




1. Give letter and copies of Marriage Certificate at NRI/Home/Foreigner's Office

2. Go back in 7 days and get the file number

3. Go to MRO 7 days after getting the file number

4. Return 3 days later to MRO and give them the demand draft

5. Return 7 days later (I suggest maybe give them 2 weeks instead...) to see if your report has been completed (at this point they should have sent it on to N/H/F office...)

6. Return to N/H/F office to find out status (probably wait a few days before going...)

7. Return and pick up stamped and signed Marriage Certificate

8. Drop off Marriage Certificate at MEA (I'm sorry I don't know the address or where it is...) in the morning with a Rs 50 postal draft (or something, I'm not sure, DH knows...) and then return and pick it up in the evening, they will have put a stamp (or glue a paper stamp on back, I'm not entirely sure which they do...) and then COMPLETE!!!

How to register at the FRRO

I had to go register at the FRRO, even though I am on a 10 year tourist visa, because you need a residence permit in order to apply for the Entry (X) visa conversion. This is what I had to do:

• Bring 4 Indian size passport photos
• 2-3 copies of your passport (first page, address page, visa page, and stamp page)
• address proof

Here they will give you 1 or 2 pages, that you have fill out again the customary 2-3 times.

The information you will need to fill out is (and this is directly from my copy of my residence permit, so it may vary from place to place):

1. Name
2. Father's / Husband's name (in this case I gave my husband's name)
3. Sex, height, and hair color
4. Date and place of birth
5. Present nationality and previous nationality (if any)
6. Manner and date of acquiring present nationality
7. Address of last residence outside of India
8. Address in India (with telephone number, if any. There are also options for a temporary address, such as hotel, and permanent address)
9. Profession and Occupation
10. Have you served in Military, Navy, or Airforces or its reserves in any country? If the answer is yes, give the details
11. Number, date & place of issue of Visa, Date up to which visa is valid
12. Number, date & place of issue of passport, date up to which passport is valid, particulars of other proof of identity
13. Port of place of embarkation or departure for India
14. Date and place of arrival in India. Flight No.         
15. Purpose of visit in India (tourist/business/employment/study/others/specify)
16. Places previous registration in India, if any
17. Name of husband/wife/children and their nationality (if accompanying the visitor)
18. Signature of the foreigners

Here we gave them :

• passport photos of me
• copy of my Indian bank account passbook
• and many other address proofs
• copy of marriage certificate
• copies of husbands voter ID card

We gave all our papers and they told us to come back in 2 weeks. There may be a police check required, but it never happened for us. 

What visa do I need?

I've had some queries about what visa would be necessary to come to India to get married on.

Come to India on a Tourist visa. Get married, and after the marriage you will be able to get your Tourist visa converted to an Entry (X) visa on dependant status on marital grounds.

To do this you will need to get registered at the FRRO (post coming up on how to accomplish this) and there they will either tell you to go to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Delhi, or they will accept your application and send it to Delhi. I am not sure if it is necessary for you to take a trip to Delhi at all, but it may be required.

After 1 year of marriage you can then convert your X visa into a PIO card, by the same procedure.

All this can be done here in India.

Indian visa's and their regulations

Indian visas and their regulations

Each visa type tourist (T), entry (X), employment (E), and person of indian origins (PIO) Card each have different registration requirements, as listed below:

• Tourist : No registration required because you are unable to stay over **180 DAYS DAYS UNLESS** you go to a neighboring country and re-enter India within 2 months (which requires a re-entry letter, either granted from the Indian Consulate you got the tourist visa at, or from the neighboring country. For this you need to show it is an emergency, or your return itinerary) and in that case you **MUST** register within 14 days of arrival. Remember this is also at the discretion of the immigration officer. You CANNOT work on this type of visa.

• Entry : You must register if you are planning to stay over 180 days. This visa is now being issued to Indian nationals instead of tourist visas. This is a "catch-all" visa, it is used for dependants who are here with spouses / parents who are on a Employment visa. If you are planning to stay over 180 days you **MUST** register before the 180 days is up. You CANNOT work on this type of visa.

• Employment : You must register within **14 DAYS**. This visa is required if you plan to **WORK** for an Indian company within India.

• Business : You must register within **14 DAYS** if you plan to stay over 180 days. This visa is issued only if you are coming to India to work for a foreign company.

• PIO (Person of Indian Origin) card :  This is issued to people of Indian descent and their spouses and/or children. The length issued is 15 years. This visa requires registration if you plan to stay over 180 days. With this you are allowed the same rights as a Indian citizen EXCEPT you can not vote, hold agricultural land, nor a government job.

http://india.gov.in/overseas/passport/faq_visa.php