Travel Visa
All foreigners are required to have a Visa to enter India. Textile Exchange recommends that all delegates obtain a Business Visa to attend the event. A Business Visa cannot be obtained upon arrival - you will need ensure you have plenty of time (several weeks) to obtain the visa.
Find your nearest Indian Mission here.
You will need an invitation letter from Textile Exchange. During conference registration passport information is collected for this purpose. Contact Terry Hyde for questions regarding your invitation letter.
As you prepare to apply for your travel visa, you will notice other forms of Visa's that may appear appropriate for attending a conference. We have vetted these possibilities and share our findings with you:
Conference Visa - This type of Visa is ONLY applicable to events that are authorized by the Indian government and is not applicable to the TE Conference.
Tourist Visa (Applicable to both the e-Tourist visa and the regular Tourist Visa) - There are many discrepancies online as to whether or not you can attend a conference on a Tourist Visa. More often than not, information states that it is for "tourism, sightseeing, visiting friends/family, and other non-business related purposes." For this reason, Textile Exchange believes it is safer to go with the Business Visa option to ensure that you will not have problems upon arrival.
Guests:
Accompanying Persons and Guests who are not registered to attend the conference should apply for a Tourist Visa. When applying for the Tourist Visa, the purpose of visit should be stated as Tourism. Any mention of "Conference" on the visa application will likely lead to the application being rejected.
Immunizations:
At the time of this posting, there are no required from immunizations (see exception below). The U.S. Center for Disease Control recommends that all travelers be up to date on routine vaccinations. However, Textile Exchange recommends that you check with your local health departments to determine what, if any, additional vaccinations are recommended.
REQUIRED: If you will be arriving from a country that is at risk for Yellow Fever, the government of India does REQUIRE proof of Yellow Fever vaccination. You can find a list of these countries here.
