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Natural Nirvana Company Policies and Reason for Being.

Money

Money
It is best to only bring American Express (dollars) or Thomas Cook (pounds) traveler’s cheques to India with you. Very often banks will only accepts these two types of traveler’s cheques, if any. I have seen people who had other types of traveler’s cheques, who had to go to Delhi to change money. Many banks will not accept any traveler’s cheques, so it is best to bring some cash also.

Banks do not accept all foreign currencies. Banks always prefer US dollars (especially) and British pounds. It is a good idea for most countries to exchange the money in your own country to US dollars before coming to India.

Visa Registration, C Forms and Visa Extensions
If you plan to stay in India for more than six months you must register with the foreign registration office within two weeks of your arrival. You need five photographs. If you come on a student visa or entry visa, you have to report any change of address or travel for more than 15 days from the place where you are registered. If you are staying in Vrindavana and you do not register within 15 days you can expect a hassle. To register you have to have a letter from the organization sponsoring you that says they will support you if you have a problem. If you are getting sponsored by ISKCON you can get this letter at the Mail-out Department Office. An officer of the organization must then sign this letter.

All foreigners staying in Vrindavana have to fill in a C Form. This form can be gotten at the hotel or ashrama that you are staying in. If the place you are staying at does not have a C Form you can usually get one at the front desk of the ISKCON Guest House. Even if you stay in someone’s house or an apartment outside, you are supposed to fill in this form. If you are staying in the ISKCON ashrama you also must fill out a C Form. If you move from one place to another in Vrindavana, technically you have to fill in another C Form. This is so the government can always know where every foreigner is staying. If you are registered, you should definitely fill out a C Form because the Foreign Registration officer (a high ranking police officer) may check to see that all the person’s that are registered filled out a C Form.

If you are staying in India for longer than six months at one time you are supposed to get an AIDS test within one month of registration. If you are found positive, you will be asked to immediately leave the country.

If you have a long-term visa (one longer than six months), which is not a tourist visa and you want to extend your visa, you have apply for an extension with the foreign registration officer two months before your visa expires. If you are a member of ISKCON you can get the necessary forms at the front desk of the ISKCON Guest House.

The Foreign Registration Office in Mathura is on Kotiwali Road.

Changing Money
There is a State Bank of India branch, on the road to the right at the end of Loi Bazaar, where they change money. They can be inefficient and take a long time. They are open from 10 am to 2 pm and can change most currencies.

At Shishu Kumar Agarwal, next to Ganga Prasad cloth shop in Loi Bazaar, you can change money at the bank rate, with a small commission, and get an exchange certificate.

The State Bank of India at the ISKCON temple may change small amounts of money, if you are polite to them.

The bank often will only change American dollars and British pounds. They may take Thomas Cook Travelers’ cheques or American Express cheques, and will not usually take any other type of travelers’ cheques. They are open from 11 am to 2 pm.

Heera Jewelers, at the beginning of Loi Bazaar, can also change money legally. At both these places you can usually change any currency that the local banks also take.

You can have money wired to you from your home country via Western Union. The agent for Western Union in Vrindavana is Gangotri. It cost $39 to wire from $300 to $3000 from the US and 25 pounds to wire up to 2000 pounds from the UK. They are also authorized money changers.

There are no places to get cash advances with an ATM cards as of January 2001 in Vrindavana or Mathura. It can be done in Delhi with no problem. You can make purchases with a credit card from Shishu Kumar Agarwal (see above). In the future he may have facilities to give cash advances on a credit card, so you can check with him about this. Check our Web site www.spiritualguides.net for an update.

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Copyright ©2001 John Howley and Spiritual Guides