Updated: 12/04/19 | December 4th, 2019
As an American, it’s easy for me to travel the world. My dollar goes far and I only have to worry about visas to a few countries around the world. But not everyone is blessed with a golden passport and it can be very hard to not only save money for travel but also obtain a visa to most countries around the world.
Today, we talk to Vikram and Ishwinder, an Indian couple who not only managed to save money for their round-the-world trip but also navigated the tough process of getting tourist visas with an Indian passport.
Nomadic Matt: Tell everyone about yourselves!
Vikram: We are an Indian couple in our late 20s that loves to travel. I am from a city called Aurangabad, close to Mumbai, while Ishwinder is from New Delhi. We were both working in London when we decided to get married in January 2012.
Within a year we decided to quit our jobs, sell what little we owned, and travel the world. We have been on the road for 15 months now. We have traveled to 25 countries and want to travel until the last bit of our savings runs out.
What inspired this big trip?
Ishwinder worked for a consulting firm while I worked as a software engineer. Stable jobs provided us the funds to travel, but we always had to rush and return to our desks on Monday. We always found ourselves wanting to stay a little longer and not be dictated by the calendar. The more we traveled on weekends and short holidays, the more we wanted to travel longer.
The tipping point was when we were hiking in Wales, climbing to the top of Snowdon. It was a Sunday so it was pretty crowded. We never saw a more crowded mountaintop than Snowdon. People were scrambling to step on the peak. We kept wondering what it would be like to come here on an off-peak day and have all this beauty to just ourselves. That was when we decided to quit our jobs and travel long term.
As Indians, do you find getting visas hard? What are some of the difficulties you face?
My visa has been rejected three times by Belgium, Spain, and the United States, though Ishwinder has never had her visa rejected.
Visa requirements are a necessary dimension we have to consider when we are planning to travel to a new country, and we can’t afford to be ignorant about it. Most times they require proof of funds, bank statements, income tax returns, return tickets, hotel bookings, and letters from employers. Some even ask for cover letters.
Do visa requirements keep you from visiting certain countries?
Visa requirements do not prevent us from visiting any country. The restrictions only make the process tiring, which ends up discouraging most people from applying. If we have to apply for a tourist visa for any Schengen country, we would need to provide income tax returns, bank statements, and return tickets.
The immigration officers are very strict, so any shortcomings in paperwork are not tolerated. One of my visa applications was rejected because I did not have enough blank pages in my passport. Such restrictions discourage spontaneous travel.
How do you go about making the application process successful?
There is no shortcut or simple way to making a successful application. All you do is read the immigration website thoroughly for all the required paperwork. Then you follow all the guidelines and paperwork to the letter. Make sure you don’t overlook anything. Any mistake is just an excuse for them to deny your application. They aren’t very lenient.
Most common requirements include return flights, a certain amount of money in your bank accounts for a period of time, and hotel bookings. Websites like Booking.com allow hotel bookings with no fees and allow cancellations until the last minute.
If you are in England and planning to travel to the EU, then bus tickets are the cheapest option for showing return tickets; you can book some as low as 10 GBP. We keep a separate account in which we keep a certain amount of money to show immigration officials that we have sufficient funds.
Even if you meet all the necessary requirements and have all your paperwork ready, you should still be prepared to accept rejection.
What countries are easier for Indians to get visas from?
We can visit Bhutan and Nepal without a visa, as well as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Mauritius, and countries in Southeast Asia are fairly easy to travel to since most of them offer visas on arrival.
Based on Internet research, countries in South and Central America also seem visa friendly for Indians. Having a UK, US, or Schengen visa is also helpful, as it makes us eligible for visas on arrival for certain other countries. (Having a UK visa allowed us to get a visa on arrival in Turkey.)
Is there an interview process? How does that go? How hard is it to get a UK, EU, or US visa?
The visa process for US is fairly complicated. You make a payment, receive a code, and use it to book an appointment. When you go to the embassy, they check your paperwork and you are interviewed. They keep your passports only if they are going to issue you a visa; else they return the papers making it clear that the visa is being denied. It’s a country that seems that it doesn’t welcome tourism from India and is the toughest visa to get.
UK and EU applications are made through a third-party agency. Most people in India still live under the impression that applying through an agent increases your chances of getting a visa. If you have the funds to travel and the proper paperwork (leave approved by employer, bank statements, bookings, and tax returns), you will most likely get the visa.
What did you do to save up for your trip?
Both of us finished college and started working immediately. I worked seven years, and Ishwinder worked about six years before we decided to quit. The major chunk of our saving was from the two years we worked in London.
How do you stick to a budget when you travel?
Since we have been traveling around in Southeast Asia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, we have not had to watch our budget that much. The only rule with us is “don’t splurge.”
In the past 15 months, there have been no expensive dinners, spas, shopping binges, or overpriced adventure sports. But when we arrive in a place, we look for a clean and airy room and don’t mind paying a little extra for that. Sticking to the basics keeps us on budget.
I get a lot of emails from Indians saying “travel is different for them.” Is that true? Has traveling changed your perspective on everything? What would you tell people/friends back home?
A lot of people think it’s a waste of time and money and that travel should be done once or twice a year. Long-term travel is still unheard of. A reason for this is that so many of us have limited opportunities that job security is a concern, so you can’t quit your job and go travel.
The most important thing is to secure your future. Indian society does not accept risk-taking, and that is what traveling long term is: a big risk.
Besides, if you are single, your family is preoccupied with getting you married. If you are married, there is a lot of societal expectation for you to have a baby. Spending time with family and being present at social functions is supremely important.
So with so many preoccupations, travel takes a back seat.
We were able to save money because we had good jobs in London and we didn’t want to buy a house or a car, and our families were much more understanding than most people. But I think even if we had been in India we would still have been able to quit and travel, but we would have needed two more years of saving.
The only thing is with those savings we would not have been able to travel to Europe.
What is one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started traveling?
Besides all the fun things about traveling, I wish we had known that traveling long term and not eating a proper diet could really affect your health in mysterious ways. Ishwinder suffered from a severe throat infection for four months and is still recovering from it. The thing that did the most damage was the improper medication she took. You must never treat yourself with medications you carry in your rucksack. It is worth spending money for medical checkups when you are abroad.
But we have been hanging out at nature cure centers and yoga ashrams and are feeling a little better now. It’s important to slow down and take care of yourself.
It may be harder for Indian citizens to travel and obtain visas, but it’s not impossible. I’ve met many Indian travelers on the road, and as Vikram and Ishwinder’s story shows, it’s possible to successfully get visas. Maybe not to everywhere, but for enough places to keep you traveling for a while.
Become the Next Success Story
One of my favorite parts about this job is hearing people’s travel stories. They inspire me, but more importantly, they also inspire you. I travel a certain way, but there are many ways to fund your trips and travel the world. I hope these stories show you that there is more than one way to travel and that is within your grasp to reach your travel goals. Here are some more examples of people who made their travel dreams come true:
- How DJ overcame visa issues and managed to live in Europe
- Life on the road as a gay couple
- How Onieka works around the world as a teacher
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varunjith
Job security!!!That’s threes only thing which holds me back from quitting and travel around. I wonder what thought process people go through when they decide to quit job and travel. What after return? What if any monetary emergency at home? Are most of the westerners whotake this step by some way protectedby their government policies and less family bonding?
Mrs and mrs Vikram may God bless you to cover all countries :).
Vikram
Varunjith
Those questions will be there always. And you will have to make more arrangements, thats all.
But the more you prolong, the more things you need to plan about.
Dont worry about what you will do after coming back. It won’t be that difficult.
A day will come when you will just not be able to go to work, you will automatically let go of your job
Vikram
Barun
Hi Matt,
I have been a long follower of your website but a lurker and I would like to thank you at the onset for all the valuable advice. For example I was in Budapest last week and enjoyed Hungarian folk dance thoroughly!!
On this topic, yes it is hard for Indians to roam as freely as others that you but its possible. We just need more preparation when it comes to visa. And although travel is a dream for everybody, the common misconception is it is risky, expensive, uncertain. I started out on my journey this month with a 15 day solo tour of Europe – Lisbon to Budapest and loved every minute of it. I would add being a solo traveler is even more unusual for indians!!!
One thing I would like to emphasize is if one has a US(I live in Pittsburgh),UK or schengen visa, doors open a bit easily 😉
Rohit
As a Indian, I have visa stamped from 14 Countries, though EU & US Visa’s are valuable to flex across given union, there are still territories like Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo in EU which in-spite being in European continent need’s individual visas. Moreover this countries allow free access to countries which are lower in comparison to India in terms economically. Standards or what so they measure.
Which brings me into that Indian government hasn’t engage our reluctant into forming bilateral treaties with this countries. It’s true as mentioned world is free, Only political boundaries carved by human’s restrain and many times discourage to Travel.
Countries such as Bulgaria,Turkey, Croatia and recently from Feb 1, 2014 Romania allows Indian PP holders to Travel and Stay for 90 days if in possession on Schengen long term Visa’s. As a tourist it not only helps me in terms of saving visa fees and repeated trips to Embassy but on the other end it encourages me as a outbound tourist in spending in their economy.
During my Recent Visit to ITB Berling Tourism Trade Fair, few pavilions had Boucher’s only in German language when asked where I can get more info in English, Since I don’t see your country participating in Trade fairs in India, or even Dubai, Abu Dhabi. She shrugged her shoulder’s.
India and China in last decade has raised millions out of poverty. The extra income at their disposal has led many to Travel. Inspite stories such as from Vikram and Ishwinder’s in visa issues are inevitable.
Well I know this is coming from a frustrated Traveller, but who know’s what lies in agenda’s of Foreign immigration office.
Cheers
Travel Safe
Marta Kulesza
Coming from Poland I can understand both of them and admire them for a lot for their patience with the awful bureaucracy. It isn’t as extreme for me, but I still found myself in situations when I was denied a Visa or had to try my ways around just to be able to visit some country. Luckily the situation changes for better from year to year, and recently I even got approved for a Work and Travel Visa for New Zealand even tho only 100 polish citizens a year get this opportunity, which proves that it is worth trying!
Emily
This is amazingly inspiring.
I knew how lucky we were to have NZ passports (though not so lucky with the NZD, goes far in less developed nations but falls over in comparison to many of the western countries we wanted to visit). The only places we had to get visas for were Cambodia and Vietnam, I cannot imagine having to worry about visas for every place we went.
Pratibha
Great post guys! You nailed it when you explained the expectations Indian society tends to have of a young person.
With an Indian passport and a visa to more than a few Western countries, I have looked upon the visa process as something akin to presenting a case – give them all the documents they ask for, and then some. It gets easier after those initial stamps on the passport.
All the best!
Scott
Congratulations on meeting some of the unique challenges associated with traveling on Indian visas. I am American but have been traveling for a year with my Ghanaian girl friend in S.E. Asia and now Ecuador. Getting visas for most African countries citizens in almost all countries is very difficult. I think your having bank accounts and letters from employers makes a huge difference.
Continued success to you, Scott
Victoria
Well done you guys and what an inspiring story. I’m a British person so the world is pretty much open to me but I’m so pleased that you continue to live the life you want to lead regardless of the difficulties. Good on you!
jonny
Posts like this do highlight how unfair this passport lottery game is. Having lived in Mexico, I have Mexican friends who have told me about all the hoops they have to jump through just to come to Europe or go to the States – it’s crazy. I wouldn’t like to do it myself. As a Briton, when on the Turkish border last year I was one of only three people on my train (along with two Dutch girls) who had to pay for a visa on arrival. It seemed like discrimination on a bizarre and utterly arbitrary basis, as the people I was travelling with (Lithuanian, French, German) had no requisites, but I did.
Oh, and on a last note – I’d just like to point out that while a British passport is not a Schengen passport, it IS an EU passport. Apparently anti-EU sentiment is so high amongst my compatriots that even people from other countries have forgotten we’re part of the Union!
Jonny
carlisdm
Excellent blog! and I can relate to it very well, being Bolivian I also face with the adversities of getting visas to everywhere (mainly US, UK and EU) with a bolivian passport you can only get to neighbouring countries in south america, then its visa for everywhere you want to go. I have traveled a lot and never got a visa rejected but still each time I have to apply I can´t avoid to think about he probabilities of being rejected (I´ve never been very stable with jobs and I´m young and not married, which embassies see as a very good prospect for migrating to other countries) I´m still savouring that bitter rejection of my Aunt´s US visa application, which whom I intended to travel as a recognition for everything she´s done to help me (like a mother), now she´s with health problems and it´s unlikely that she´ll be fit to travel in the future… it´s SO unfair!
Daniel
Wow, what an inspiration! Here I am, as a US Passport holder, complaining about having to get a few visas and the expense of air fare. There is a lottery of birth and we who have it easier should realize that and try and give back.
They did the Khardung La pass on a motorcycle, too, that’s so cool! An Indian friend of mine suggested doing that since I already ride.
Karyn
Wow, I had no idea it was that hard for a person from India to get visas to some countries. That sucks. But I am so glad you guys found way to make this work! You will be an inspiration to a lot of people. 🙂
Laura
….. it’s kind of crazy that people can’t travel freely… I feel really blessed with my EU passport.
Alex
Wonderful story! As an American and Australian married couple it’s wonderful to get a different cultural perspective on what it’s like to travel.
We have several Indian friends who studied in Australia, and yes it’s a culture that seems to generally frown upon the risk taking of long term travel. Great for you guys, well done! 🙂
Francis Cassidy
Nice to hear a positive story like this. Fortunately I have been blessed with one of the “Golden Passports” but I feel for some of the travellers I met along the way who can’t travel to the countries they really want to see. In particular, I have met many Russians and Chinese, who were extremely interesting people, and great travellers, but they were constantly facing torturous processes for applying for visas for certain countries. I feel for them, but am glad to see Vikram and Ishwinder fullfill their dream!
Rashad Pharaon
What an inspiring story – I’m not sure that I’d be as patient as Vikram and Ishwinder if I had to provide bank statements every time I wanted to visit a new country. Kudos to them for showing everyone that it’s possible!
Kaylin
Ishwinder and Vikram, you guys rock! Keep doing what you’re doing. It’s not quite the same thing, but where I live (Southern US) it’s also relatively unheard of for people to travel long-term/quit their jobs to travel; most people here just get married and have kids young, and stay in their hometown. This sure makes me glad I have one of those “golden passports”! But it also makes me angry that there are people like you guys that have such trouble traveling when you want to, and Americans who could travel almost anywhere and refuse to. And here I was, also, complaining about the visa for China being so expensive and not worth the effort… I don’t know if I would have traveled half as much as I have if it was that much of a pain in the butt for every country, so definite kudos!
Saksham
You are lucky guys. Living my dream life. I have a question if you can reply. I am a doctor and pursing my post graduation in India which is salaried (got my PG 4 months back before which I was doing preparation for the PG entrance exam so no salary) I am going to pay my income tax return first time for this year. I wanted to ho to travel to Europe and will have to get travel visa (schengen)
Will it create problem as I don’t have my income tax returns acknowledgement? I have my pay slips and sufficient balance in my bank account. Have my pan card and credit card too
Sharmistha
Wow! Interesting to read how you guys quit your job and travel! Being an Indian myself, I have been able to travel to 10+ countries while holding my job. Although I’m not a big advocate of the whole quitting thing, it’s interesting to see your perspective. End of the day you need to be happy – Glad to see you guys are enjoying. Happy Travels! 🙂