Security level:
In general the situation in India is relatively calm, though the cases of public protests, sitting strikes, etc. are frequent.
There is high threat from terrorist actions at public places, such as crowded trade centres and markets, tourist sites and places of interest, cinemas, trains, buses, occult places, etc.
Frequently committed crime against foreigners is small stealing. Cases are registered where foreigners have been drugged with narcotic substances through food and/or drinks proposed to them by unfamiliar people. Hence such proposals have to be declined.
During the past few years some cases have become known of kidnapping, violence and killing of foreigners, on religious basis included.

Healthcare:
India government does not require mandatory vaccines, except for vaccine against yellow fever for people having visited in the last 6 days countries where this disease is spread (mainly African and Latin-American countries).
Dysentery, hepatitis, HIV/SPIN, infectious diseases, malaria, Denge-fever, etc. are common diseases in India. Some of them have seasonal character.
In the big Indian cities many private clinics are functioning which maintain high standards of service but remain relatively expensive.

Traffic on roads:
Traffic follows the left road lane.

Practical advice:
Recommendable is that the Bulgarian citizens visiting India shall register themselves at the Embassy in Delhi in person, by phone or by e-mail.
Recommendable is concluding of medical insurance with higher cover.
Special attention shall be paid for avoidance of stealing of personal documents, cash and valuables. Recommendable is making of photocopies of your passport, Indian visa and airplane ticket which shall be kept at a place different from the storage place of the originals.
In connection with the terrorist threat in India, in all bigger hotels, tourist sites, etc. strengthened security measures are applied, including personal check and checking of personal items. In such cases the Bulgarian citizens shall provide their assistance to checking officials.
Recommendable is the avoidance of crowded places, demonstrations, meetings of civil or religious character. You should be watchable in respect of suspicious packages and other objects, as well as in contacting Indian or other citizens.
Avoided shall be any occasional contacts, visits of dark and deserted places, especially in the dark hours. Recommendable is to move in a group, not individually. Clothes shall be rather conservative, especially of women in connection with cases of sexual violence against women foreigners.
Special permit from the Indian government is requested for travelling in the Indian states of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, for the Andaman and Nikobar islands, as well as for some regions in the Indian states of Dzhammu and Kashmir, Radzhastan and Himachal Pradesh. The applications for obtaining of such permit shall be filed upon applying for visa at the Indian Embassy a considerable time in advance (not less than two months) before the planned journey. Filing of an application for such permit is possible also after arrival in India at the Ministry of Interior of India or at some of the FRRO offices.
Bulgarian citizens who travel in the Indian state of Dzhammu and Kashmir, at the regions close to the Pakistan boundary and in the north-eastern Indian states shall inform themselves well in advance about the particular situation there and the eventual security problems.
During your stay in India you should consume only plant-bottled water or boiled water, as well as ice from such water. Fruits and vegetables shall be carefully washed out and dried before consumption. Not recommendable is the consumption of food which has not been thermally processed. You should avoid low-hygiene restaurants and fast food pavilions on the street.
Recommendable is avoidance of contact with street animals as they may be bearers of serious diseases. You should be especially careful for monkeys who may be very aggressive while trying to steal food or items.
Upon visiting of occult places, you should wear appropriate clothes covering your shoulders and feet; shoes shall be taken away before entering of the occult place. In most cases photo shooting of religions sites is not allowable.
Holding hands in public is prohibited.

Local currency:

Indian Rupee (INR).

With effect from 9 November 2016, Indian Rupee 500 and Indian Rupee 1000 notes have been withdrawn from circulation. A note of 2,000 Indian rupees and a new note of 500 Indian rupees have been put into circulation. There is no valid Rs 1 000 note in India.

For ordinary passport holders, a visa is required for entry into the Republic of India. A visa can be applied for at the Embassy of the Republic of India in Sofia or electronically by accessing the website: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa.html .Three types of visa can be applied for through the given e-mail address - so called e-Tourist visa, e-Medical visa, e-business visa etc.
Travelers to India should have a passport with a minimum validity of 6 months from the date of entry into the country. In case of a valid Indian visa in an expired passport, the visa can be used if a new valid passport is presented.

Action algorithm for e-Tourist visa:

1. Filling in the electronic form;
2. Payment of the appropriate fee for citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria: see the information on the website of the Embassy of the Republic of India in Sofia, according to the different categories of travelers: http://www.indembsofia.gov.in/page/visa/;
3. Obtaining approval;
4. Obligatory printing of a paper copy of the approval received;
5. Arrival at one of the designated 28 airports in the country where e-Tourist visa is processed - Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bangaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Calicut Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Port Blair, Pune, Thiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Varanasi and Visakhapatnam; and 5 ports - Chennai, Cochin, Goa, Mangalore and Mumbai.
6. Collection of biometric data from border officials;
7. Visa Application;
8. Entry into the territory of the Republic of India.
Conditions applicable to e-Tourist visa applicants:
- The person's passport must be valid for at least 6 (six) months after the date of entry into the country;
- The visa can be applied for between 4 and 120 days before the actual travel, for example, if a citizen applies for a visa on 1 September, possible travel dates are 5 September to 2 January;
- Visa validity: see information on the website of the Embassy of the Republic of India in Sofia, according to the different categories of travellers: http://www.indembsofia.gov.in/page/visa/
- Entry into the territory of the Republic of India can only be made through the above 28 airports and 5 ports. Exit from the Republic of India can be made from any BCP;
- Purpose of travel may be tourism, meeting friends or relatives, short term medical treatment, business etc.;
- Travellers must have a return ticket or a ticket to continue their journey and sufficient funds for their stay in the Republic of India;
- The fee is non-refundable irrespective of the decision on the application;
- Electronic visas are not subject to extension or change of grounds and are not valid in certain territories where access is restricted by Indian authorities
- In case of need for further information, telephone 0091 11 24300666 or e-mail: [email protected] can be used.

As of July 2, 2009, holders of valid Bulgarian diplomatic and service passports may enter, exit and transit through the territory of the Republic of India without a visa for short-term stays of up to 90 (ninety) days within every 6 (six) months.
Under Indian law, a change of visa type (e.g. from tourist to student or business and vice versa) cannot be made on the spot in India; if such a change is required, foreigners should leave the country and reapply for the appropriate visa type at an Indian embassy.
In extreme cases, and upon proof of necessity, the visa stay may be extended locally at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) before the visa expires.

Visitors to India on a tourist visa who have been allowed to re-enter the country before the expiry of the two-month period since their last departure are required to register with the FRRO within 14 days.
Foreign nationals entering India on a student, work, research, medical or missionary visa valid for more than 180 days must register with the RHRD within 14 days of entering the country, irrespective of the duration of their stay.

Attention!
Your passport must have at least one blank page so that the entry visa can be affixed to it. There should be no other visa stamps on the back of this page apart from the border control stamps.

What the consular officers may do for you:
- protection of the rights and interests of Bulgarian citizens, Bulgarian legal entities and people with Bulgarian origin in India and in the other countries of accreditation – Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, in conformity with the Bulgarian legislation and the international treaties valid for R. Bulgaria, within the limits permissible by the international law and customs, as well as the legislation of India and the other countries of accreditation;
- consulting of physical people and legal entities on matters in the sphere of the consular activities or of significant public interest, or of Bulgarian citizens found in trouble;
- consulting of Bulgarian physical people and legal entities on the representation of their interests upon investigation and court procedures/cases, upon imposed restrictions on entering the territory of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, upon searching of inheritants , etc. on the territory of the countries of accreditation;
- acceptance, processing and communicating to the competent Bulgarian authorities of applications for issuing of Bulgarian identity documents (passport, personal identification card and driver’s license);
- acceptance and processing of declarations for declaring invalid Bulgarian personal identity documents; acceptance of invalid Bulgarian personal identity documents and informing of the competent Bulgarian authorities thereof;
- acceptance and processing of applications for issue of temporary passports to Bulgarian citizens with lost or stolen documents, and of certificates for return to Bulgaria to a foreigner; issue of substituting documents for travel after obtaining of the respective permit from the competent Bulgarian authorities;
- comprising of acts on established administrative breaches under the Law on Bulgarian personal identity documents;
- drawing of certificates, official notes etc. within the limits of the Embassy’s competence;
- acceptance and processing of applications for verification/establishment of Bulgarian citizenship and PIN in “Population” NBD and for selection/change of permanent and current address in R. Bulgaria;
- acceptance and processing of applications for adoption or renewal of Bulgarian citizenship or for release from Bulgarian citizenship;
- acceptance and processing of notifications on civil status and of documents on concluding of civil marriage at the Embassy;
- performance of translations and verification of the translator’s signature under civil status documents and verifications of the translator’s signature under other documents and papers in conformity with the stipulated competences;
- notary verifications of signatures and transcripts/ copies;
- acceptance and processing of applications for issue of Bulgarian visas;
- submission of information on the order and conditions for issue of visas;
- acceptance of requests and rendering assistance to Bulgarian citizens and foreigners found in trouble on the territory of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka;
- protection of the interests of Bulgarian physical people and legal entities under extreme circumstances (natural calamities, terrorist attacks, etc.) and of the rights of Bulgarian citizens – victims of traffic aiming sexual or other form of exploitation, etc.;
- providing of information to Bulgarian citizens who are arrested and/or imprisoned on the territory of the countries of accreditation;
- representing the interests of under-aged and non-full-aged people and people of limited physical capability or physically incapable people within the frames of the international customs and the legislation of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka;
- tracing down/investigation of Bulgarian citizens or of people with Bulgarian origin on the territory of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka on the request of Bulgarian physical people or legal entities upon the availability of legal interest and within the frames of the international customs and the legislation of these countries;
- rendering of assistance to the crews of sea and river ships fleeting under the banner of R. Bulgaria and to aircraft registered in R. Bulgaria, within the frames of the international customs and the legislation of the hosting countries; upon necessity – acceptance of declarations for traveling on ships, comprising of shipping documents and settlement of disputes between the captain, sailors and passengers, as far as provided by the legislation of R. Bulgaria;
- provision of information about suffering, detained, deceased or perished Bulgarian citizens on the territory of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka;
- provision of information on the procedures and necessary documents and rendering of assistance for repatriation to Bulgaria or for the execution of funeral/ official funeral in these countries in case of death of a Bulgarian citizen;
- in case of arresting – visit of the consular official at the detained Bulgarian citizen; provision of information and rendering of assistance to the relatives of the detained person to visit him/her in prison; paying efforts to guarantee the same attitude to the detained Bulgarian citizen as to the citizens of the hosting country;
- submission of topical information upon travel to and from the countries of accreditation;
- acceptance of requests for access to public information and provision of information on matters connected with Bulgarian personal identity documents (passport, personal identity card, driver’s license), on the possibilities for renewal or adoption of Bulgarian citizenship, civil status, citizenship, Apostilles, legalization, translation of documents and verification of the translator’s signature and other notary activities in conformity with the stipulated competences;
- in extreme situations, for Bulgarians found in disaster and after their relatives transfer the requested amount at the cashier’s desk of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy will pay to the person the relevant amount.

Certification and Legalisation:
Bulgaria and India are parties under the Hague Convention on the abolishment of the requirement for legalisation of foreign public documents dt. 1961. Thus, the documents/deeds comprised in each of the two countries shall be provided with a seal – “Apostille” of the relevant Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as translated and verified under the relevant order, to serve in front of the competent authorities of the other country.

European temporary passport:
In case of emergency (lost passport), Bulgarian citizens can seek on-the-spot assistance from a diplomatic mission of any EU Member State to issue a travel document.