Efficient India

Things can get complicated at times. Michael is supposed to return to India on July 8th. His Indian visa expires on July 15th which means he has to go in right away to have it renewed. Of course he has to give up his passport until it is processed.

The problem is that due to a family members' illness he may have to return to Canada at a moments notice. Without a passport he can't.

Normally the Indian Consulate will not extend a work visa outside of India. But Michael decided to explain the situation to the Consulate General and ask for an extension outside of India, two days prior to leaving.

If there is one thing that is important to the Indian people - it is family. Last night Michael emailed the Consulate explaining the situation and this morning they phoned and told him to come into the office with the required documents. We drove downtown right away and the visa officer came out to talk to Michael as soon as we arrived. He then took us across the hall to meet with the Consulate General who was extremely sympathetic to the situation having had a similar situation in his family last year.

He sent us back to the office where they already knew to accept the application and assured us that they would extend the visa for six months; Michael can pick it up tomorrow. It is wonderful to know that people can be compassionate and empathic when it counts, although I think the Indian people are just that on a regular basis.