Mixed race married couple in India.

[IandI 5]

Me and my Indian wife will be traveling to India and her maiden name is still on her Indian passport. We have American legal residency card with her married name on it along with American marriage certificate.  Will we have problems getting hotels in Kerala? 

[KozmicBlues 592]

Maybe look at travel specific forums for India/Kerala or contact some hotels there directly to make sure there will be no issues. I had to make sure with hotels in Delhi/Gurgaon that there wouldn't be an issue with me and fiance staying together since we are unmarried. Most places seemed OK with it, but there definitely were a few that would not have allowed us to stay. As long as you can show some proof that you two are married then I'm sure you should be fine. 

[TexasHeartsIndia 371]

My fiance and I stayed all over Kerala together, including Munnar and Cochin. We didn't have any issues anywhere. It seems they are less likely to confront an American guest with that issue or maybe they practice "don't ask, don't tell". We also wore fake wedding rings since we weren't even engaged at that time. I wouldn't recommend asking them if that is a problem. Just show up and pretend like everything is fine - maybe get some rings.

Edited May 20, 2017 by TexasHeartsIndia

[Nikita2Charles 32]

As TexasheartsIndia mentioned just act normal, I've never been ask that kind of question, maybe if the person is with a foreigner they will be more discreet. I even stay in Chennai which can be more conservative than Kerala, not once did they ever ask me that question. 

I only had one instance where the hotel manager was a little bit upset because the local guys had booked my room, there's one rate for foreigner and a cheaper rate for Indian nationals, even then they didn't ask me to pay the difference or anything like that, they just told the manager, he's one of us, he's Tamilian, he's a local.

 

I have stayed in Teravandrhum, Cochin without any issue.

[amul 229]

On 4/30/2017 at 2:14 AM, IandI said:

Me and my Indian wife will be traveling to India and her maiden name is still on her Indian passport. We have American legal residency card with her married name on it along with American marriage certificate.  Will we have problems getting hotels in Kerala? 

Kerala was not a problem, but Varanasi was another story for us 😬😣

 

We now travel with a copy of our marriage certificate! 😅

[patientguyinlove 92]

This may be old news, but I thought I would share my experience with those who may have the same issue in the future.  I spent a few weeks in Northern India with my fiance...hence we are not married. I'm from the US, she is from India.

 

Himachal was no issue, although my Fiance did call to confirm with the owner of the B&B we stayed at. If you stay at a small place or an Indian hotel chain, it's polite to call and ask before making the reservation.

 

For certain cities like Hyderabad, I would call. The same with Varanasi. It's a holy place. 

Side note, did you see that airport in Varanasi? That one and Allahabad I'll never forget. The Allahabad airport was about the size of my very modest apartment. 

 

If you're staying at a western hotel, I highly doubt they will say anything. 

If the Marriott or Radisson in Delhi gave us a hard time, believe me I would have made a big enough scene to make front page news.

 

[N400fiasco 35]

On 9/29/2017 at 6:12 PM, patientguyinlove said:

This may be old news, but I thought I would share my experience with those who may have the same issue in the future.  I spent a few weeks in Northern India with my fiance...hence we are not married. I'm from the US, she is from India.

 

Himachal was no issue, although my Fiance did call to confirm with the owner of the B&B we stayed at. If you stay at a small place or an Indian hotel chain, it's polite to call and ask before making the reservation.

 

For certain cities like Hyderabad, I would call. The same with Varanasi. It's a holy place. 

Side note, did you see that airport in Varanasi? That one and Allahabad I'll never forget. The Allahabad airport was about the size of my very modest apartment. 

 

If you're staying at a western hotel, I highly doubt they will say anything. 

If the Marriott or Radisson in Delhi gave us a hard time, believe me I would have made a big enough scene to make front page news.

 

Thanks for the update! No wonder you are a patient guy in love having to to deal with these archaic rules. 

 

I agree with your experience at a western hotel. That's the reason I booked a Raddison for my single night stay in Delhi and wasn't asked anything. They dare not ask any questions charging that much money! 

[patientguyinlove 92]

23 hours ago, N400fiasco said:

That's the reason I booked a Raddison for my single night stay in Delhi and wasn't asked anything. They dare not ask any questions charging that much money! 

I'll take India's archaic rules over an 8 month visa delay.

I hope you didn't book the Radisson Blu Marina in Connaught place...that place was a big disappointment. We stayed there for a few nights in June.