Visa Information

Passport

You must obtain a passport to enter any of the MSID countries. Your passport must be valid for the entire duration of your program. If you have not already obtained your passport, you should apply for one immediately. Information about applying for a passport can be found on the US Department of State's web site.

Students must mail their actual passport to Perry International to obtain a student visa. Travel outside the US will not be possible while your visa is being processed. It is recommended that you make a photocopy of your passport before submitting it with your visa application.

Visas

US citizens studying in any of the MSID countries must obtain a student visa. Non-US citizens should check with the host country embassy to determine any special regulations pertaining entry into that country.

All MSID students are required to obtain a student visa through Perry International, a passport and visa processing company based in Chicago. The visa processing fee charged by Perry International is included in the MSID program fee. Students pay Perry International the cost of the actual visa plus shipping costs and any additional fees. Instructions and application material can be found on Perry Internationals's web site. Be sure to enter 'MSID' for the program name when selecting your visa country and type on Perry's web site, and view the 'MSID additional information' page for specific instructions for MSID students.

The Learning Abroad Center will send the required letter of acceptance directly to Perry International. Any photos required by Perry International are in addition to those you may have already submitted to the Learning Abroad Center.

Students should contact Ty or Thomas at Perry International with visa questions.  Ty and Thomas are the designated MSID contacts. Students can also speak to any of the Perry International advisors about genral visa processing questions at perry@perryvisa.com or (312) 372-2703. 

Students must mail their actual passport to Perry International to obtain a student visa. Travel outside the US will not be possible while your visa is being processed.

MSID students do not need to pay Perry International to be registered with the US embassy. Perry International will automatically register you as part of the services they provide to the MSID program.

Be certain to check the visa in your passport when you receive it, particularly if it lists the dates of your stay abroad. Embassies have occasionally been known to make errors when entering in duration dates. Contact Perry International if you think that there may been an error in your visa.

Country-specific Instructions

NOTE: Students may NOT arrive before the official start date of the program. India immigration laws require that students be registered with the police in Jaipur by the MSID staff within 14 days of arrival. The MSID on-site staff will register the group as part of the orientation. Students cannot register themselves, and the MSID on-site staff cannot register individual students before the official program start date. Students may consider traveling independently after the official program end date.

All MSID India students must apply for a student visa through Perry International. The AIIS form that you filled out as part of the confirmation process is NOT an application for a visa.  Also, DO NOT apply directly to the Consulate (TRAVISA) for your India visa.  You will not have the required paperwork, and your visa will not be granted.  You must use Perry International.

For Question 37 of the online application, you should list the following references:

In India:

Rima Hooja

11, Uniara Garden

Jaipur 302004, Rajasthan

In Applicant's Country:

Heidi Soneson

University of Minnesota

271 19th Avenue S

Minneapolis, MN 55455

Students of Indian origin may not need to apply for a student visa if they have obtained Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status or have a Person of Indian Origin (POI) Card. Check with Perry International for details if you qualify for either of these exceptions.