Visa-on-arrival

Last week, my niece arrived in Chennai seeking a visa-on-arrival for her two week visit. All her papers were in order and she got the visa, but it took her hours to get out of the airport. Why?

Immigration officials insisted she pay the visa fee in rupees. She had earlier been informed that she could pay in USD and she came prepared, but when she arrived, she was told the visa had to be paid for in INR.

First of all, most visitors are unlikely to have rupees in their possession when they arrive, because few foreign exchange dealers abroad deal in rupees.Second, if this is the rule, then there should have been a currency exchange counter at Immigration. Of course, there isn't. So the poor child had to wait to be escorted by Immigration officials to an ATM... OUTSIDE the arrival area.

Does this make any sense?

Contrast it to my recent Sri Lanka experience, when I landed, walked up to and out of Immigration in less than five minutes with a visa-on-arrival. And fee? What fee? I paid no fee. I am sure the costs of processing and monitoring my entry were built into something, but you know what, I don't really mind because entry itself was painless and pleasant. I felt welcome.

It's just as well my niece has a lot of equanimity or the day would have been ruined for her. It would have for me. I would have fretted, fumed and got really tired.

But what does it say about us? On the one hand, a visa-on-arrival is intended to promote tourism. On the other, this sort of regulation makes it a very unpleasant arrival and entry into India. Are we saying to people, "Please come to my house," or "Ya, whatever, don't care as long as I can 'vasool' your money?" Conflicting messages, humid weather on arrival and discomfiting arrival procedures can make a tired tourist turn tail and go right back!

There's outrage and beyond that outrage, we really have to ask what purpose is served by this policy and its silly attendant regulations. This is something that MEA, the tourism department and the Finance Ministry need to think about seriously.