4 min readNew DelhiJul 6, 2026 11:00 AM IST
First published on: Jul 6, 2026 at 11:00 AM IST
A travel influencer couple recently spoke about their Kyrgyzstan e-Visa being returned despite having provided all details and documents. According to the couple, Gloriya and Sourab, while applying for a Kyrgyzstan e-Visa as an Indian is a “simple” process as “everything is online, and unlike many countries, you don’t need confirmed flight tickets or hotel bookings to submit your application”, there’s one requirement that confuses almost everyone.
“The Letter of Invitation (LOI): Many people aren’t sure if it’s mandatory, where to get it, or whether any invitation letter will work,” the couple captioned their video post on Instagram.
DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to.
Sharing their disappointment at having their visa to Kyrgyzstan returned, the couple documented their lessons from the incident. “We submitted the application along with a letter of invitation provided by a local guide. So, we thought we were all set. A few days later, our application was returned. After checking the forums and official guidelines, we found that the letter of invitation must be issued only by a government-registered, authorised travel agency. And the frustrating part? Most registered companies would only issue a Letter of Invitation if you book their entire tour package,” the couple mentioned in the video.
After a “lot of researching”, the couple “finally found a registered company that was ready to provide just the Letter of Invitation”. “It ended up costing us almost twice the visa fee, but thankfully, we had 30 days to resubmit the application. Five days later, our visa got approved,” the couple expressed.
The duo said that the “entire process happened over WhatsApp”. “They shared a simple form, we filled it out, and they sent us the LOI within just one day. Their charges were also much more reasonable than the other agencies we contacted.”
To verify this rule, we reached out to aviation expert K Anuradha Suresh, retired Senior AGM at Air India, who called it “the dark side of the travel agency market”.
“While lookalike websites are a major issue, an even bigger trap is predatory or outright fraudulent visa assistance agencies. Travellers pay these agencies hefty fees, trusting that they have the internal channels or the mandatory government-approved local partnerships (like securing a valid local Letter of Invitation) to get the job done. Instead, some of these agencies forge approval letters, reuse expired templates, or cut corners to pocket a higher margin. The traveller only finds out when they are humiliated at the boarding gate or immigration counter,” expressed Anuradha.
Know this important rule (Photo: Freepik)
Notably, The Letter of Invitation confirms the traveller’s purpose and itinerary and must come from a licensed Kyrgyz tour operator or hosting organisation. It is needed if the country is not eligible for visa-free travel or e-visa, or when applying for a long-term or multiple-entry visa.
How to protect yourself:
*Never take an approval on face value: Even if an agency hands you a printed visa copy, always take the application number or passport number and plug it directly into the country’s official Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) database to verify it independently before heading to the airport.
*Cross-check authorised status: Many embassies publish a list of strictly authorised outsourced partners or registered agents on their official websites (similar to how VFS or BLS companies operate for major regions). If an agency isn’t on that official diplomatic list, you are taking a massive gamble, cautioned Anuradha.
Anuradha said that the “couple’s nightmare is a harsh reminder: Never assume a paid agency has actually done the legitimate legwork. Always independently verify your visa status on government portals before you pack your bags”.
DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to.
When can the e-Visa be rejected? (Photo: AI Generated) 
Know this important rule (Photo: Freepik)
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