Travel Visa

All non-Indian citizens are required to have an Indian travel visa to enter the country. Allow sufficient time (at least 4-6 weeks) to procure the appropriate visa from your nearest Indian consulate (see Indian consulates worldwide). Indian consulates in the continental US are located in Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, and Atlanta. All participants traveling from the United States must use Cox & Kings Global Services Pvt. Limited to obtain an Indian visa. All other participants should contact the Indian Embassy/ Consulate General of India in their respective countries for information on obtaining an Indian visa. This is to ensure that you are in compliance with respect to latest the regulations enforced by the Indian Embassy issuing the visa.

Applications for a Conference Visa will require the applicant to supply a letter of invitation from HiPC organizers, which may be requested after you have registered for the conference and paid your fees. HiPC organizers have secured the required Indian government approvals and clearances to support applications for Conference Visas. If these letters are required as part of the visa application, a single pdf of all required permissions and certifications for HiPC 2019 from Indian Government Agencies is available here.

Important Note: Participants who require an Indian visa to travel to HiPC are advised to check the exact set of approvals and clearances that the Indian Embassy requires, including requirements for security clearance that apply to passport holders from some countries. When completing the online Visa Invitation Letter Request form, check the last section of the form and complete if your passport country is named, no matter where you may currently reside. This is to ensure that the compliance is met with respect to the latest regulations enforced by the Indian Embassy issuing the visa.

If the visa application form requests contact information for HiPC organizers and a reference in India, see the Contact page for details.

Flight Reservations

Flights to India and Hyderabad in particular tend to fill up well ahead of the December holiday season. We recommend that you make your flight as well as lodging reservations 3-4 months in advance, to be on the safe side. We strongly recommend that you avoid arriving in New Delhi or taking flights that stop in New Delhi en-route to Hyderabad as winter fog often throws air-traffic off-gear in New Delhi. For more information on local travel, see the here.

Vaccinations & Health Tips

Many first-time travelers to India prefer to get preventive vaccinations (shots). The US CDC Website offers the latest vaccination information on travel to India. In other countries, there may be similar advisories available from the appropriate government agency. Checking various world travel sites is another source of information, including tips for first time travelers.

Foreign Exchange

While international credit cards are widely accepted in commercial establishments in India, several places rely on cash transactions in the local currency (Indian Rupee), especially if the purchase value is not very high. We suggest that you either carry some Indian currency when entering India or purchase Indian currency at the currency exchange agencies at the Indian airports, upon arrival. The current exchange rate is about 66 INR per US dollar. Please check the conversion rate before you travel. Once in India, you can purchase additional Indian currency from local branches of Citibank, Thomas Cook, etc. However, it is typically difficult to convert Indian currency back into foreign currency because of exchange regulations.

Hotel Reservations

Please make your hotel reservations ahead of time so that you get your choice of accommodation. The HiPC hotel Website will provide information on the conference hotel – the Novotel where the conference venue is located – and other hotel options which offer quality budget accommodations.

Time and Weather

The Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5.5 hours ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and is 13.5 hours ahead of the U. S. Pacific Standard Time (PST). In December/ January the weather is mildly tropical with temperatures averaging about 26° Celsius (approx. 79° Fahrenheit) during the day and about 16° Celsius (approx. 61° Fahrenheit) during the night.