Is the Indian e-visa in a damaged old passport still valid?
I have been traveling for over a year with the goal of reaching Indonesia over land (and ferry where necessary) from my home country of The Netherlands. However I have encountered a problem in India. My passport got wet and some of the stamps are damaged and have "melted" and created imprints on other pages. The Indian e-visa & entry stamps are intact and readable, but slightly smudged. Some of the stamps from other countries are unreadable though.
I figured that I should not travel with a passport with water damage, since if border officials deny me on the basis of having a damaged passport, I could get stuck in no-man's land inbetween countries at land borders. So I decided to request a new passport at my country's embassy.
So now I have my invalidated passport with slightly damaged but readable Indian e-visa stamps and my new passport. Can I still cross the land border with this? I googled around and I can find some sources saying that you can use a visa from an expired passport with your new passport, if you carry both the expired passport and the new passport with you. I think this referred to the embassy visa though while I have an e-visa. The staff at my embassy said it should work but they can't be sure.
picture of stamp https://i.stack.imgur.com/eAO9Q.jpg
Best Answer
I did the crossing. They looked confused with the situation, fiddled with my passports for 2 hours, made phone calls and scanned them countless times but then they let me through in the end. Hope it is useful for someone.
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What happens to visa when passport is damaged?
If your passport is damaged to the extent that it is no longer valid for travel then you have to apply for a new visa in a new passport, and will need to submit both the damaged and new passport when you apply.Can you get a visa with a damaged passport?
A visa is only valid with the same passport used for its application and approval. If you have to replace that document you will get a new passport number and will need to reapply with the country that previously issued your travel authorization.Can I travel with damaged Indian passport?
As long as your passport is not damaged beyond recognition, that is, if you can read the passport number, the name, and the photo are all legible, you can apply for a reissue under the Tatkaal scheme. The Tatkaal scheme cannot be applied to a passport that has been severely damaged.What is considered as damaged passport in India?
A: Damaged passport is classified further based on the extent of damage, i.e.: Damaged Passport - Passport number is readable, name is legible and Photo is intact. Damaged beyond recognition.Apply // Renew // Update Passport- What To Do When Visa Is On Old Passport // Get New Passport
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Andre Mouton, Zeynep Tuğçe, Suliman Sallehi, Maria Orlova