DOCUMENTATION FOR INDIA

When I am travelling I find it very useful to keep all my documentation in an clear plastic A4 Documentation wallet that stays in my hand luggage. This keeps them all together for easy reach – you may need to show some of them at the airport –  and most importantly keeps them dry ! Before I leave home I check in on-line and print off any boarding passes – it’s a good idea to try and do the same for the return journey either at an internet cafe or at the hotel if possible. I used the Emirites App for my last flight to check-in and receive the boarding passes but I printed them off as well which saves time at the airport and is a back up should your phone die for any reason or the worst happens and it is lost or stolen. Also printing out emails of your flight booking will avoid problems – you need to show this information to enter the airport / departures in India. Just do anything that makes life easier for yourself. I hadn’t printed mine off and had problems at Kolkata airport – I had intended to just show the email on my phone but I was unable to log into my e-mails for the duration of my last visit to India so was unable to locate and print off the flight booking email – it was pure luck i had whatsapped a snapshot copy of the flight tickets email to my son before i left that i was able to retrieve. you’re not allowed to enter the airport unless you can prove you are about to fly !

I also took a print out of my insurance document ( again the info was in my emails that i was unable to log into ) . Also it’s a good idea to take a photo and print it off of your passport and visa. With Emirites at Heathrow you will need a printed out copy of your boarding pass and also a print out of your Indian e-visa (if you opted for the electronic version ) – I hadnt realised this was neccessary and had to forward the email from the Indian visa dept to the lady at the Emirites desk so that she could print it out for me. Bit of a pain.

Medication documentation

If you are taking medication – either on a direct flight or via a stop over – it’s best to take a letter from your doctor and/or a copy of the prescription ( I take tranquilizers for flying and need an epipen for bee-stings & i photograph the prescriptions before i hand it over to the chemist and print copies off ).

Hotel documentation

Print off info for your hotel/accommodation including address photo & phone number if you know where you are staying – when hailing taxis sometimes the drivers don’t understand English very well and it’s useful to show them – was useful for me a few times in Kolkata.

Backup documentation

And as a back up it’s a good idea to let someone at home to have copies of all this info as well.