Visa to India

To visit India, all foreign nationals are required to obtain a visa before their arrival. The visa application process may vary depending on your nationality and the purpose of your visit.

Types of Visas

For leisure, sightseeing, and visiting friends or family.

For business-related activities, such as meetings, conferences, or trade.

For medical treatment in recognized hospitals/medical facilities.

For individuals seeking employment or working in India.

For pursuing education at recognized institutions in India.

Available for citizens of eligible countries for short-term visits, including tourism, business, medical, and conference purposes. The e-Visa is applied for online before travel.

Indian Government is providing Visa on Arrival enabled by Electronic Authorization, also known as e-visa.

For details, please click: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html

Visa Application Process

Apply Online

For most visa types, the application process involves filling out an online application form through the Indian government's official website or the Indian Visa Outsourcing Services (IVAC) website, depending on your country of residence.

Required Documents

You will generally need to provide a passport with at least six months of validity remaining, recent passport-sized photographs, proof of travel plans (e.g., flight bookings), proof of accommodation, and additional documents specific to the type of visa you are applying for (e.g., invitation letter, business contacts, educational acceptance letter, etc.).

Visa Fee: Pay the applicable visa fee online or as specified by the Indian diplomatic mission/consulate in your country.

The processing time for an Indian visa varies and can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. It is recommended to apply well in advance of your intended travel date. Some countries are eligible for a visa-on-arrival (VoA) facility or an electronic travel authorization (ETA) for short-term visits. This is not available for all nationalities, so it's important to check if your country is eligible.

Instructions for e-visa

It is necessary that the permitted nationals must apply for an e-Visa online, minimum 4 days in advance of their date of arriving in India, with a window of 365 days. For example, if a person is applying for an e-Visa on 1st November then his / her date of arrival should be 5th November to 30th October next year.
Along with the application of e-Visa, other documents are also required. This documentation includes a recent photograph with white-color background. The photo page in the passport must contain personal details such as name of the holder, date of birth, nationality, expiry date and so on. Also, one more document is required depending on the type of e-Visa. If the documents and the photographs that have been uploaded are not clear, then, the application can get rejected.
The fee of e-Visa is territory / country specific. An extra of 2.5 percent for bank transaction charges will be levied on e-Visa fees. The applicant is required to pay this fees at least 4 days prior to his date of travelling or the application is not going to be processed.
Since the fee is for the processing of the application form, thus after payment, the fee is non-refundable. It does not depend on Grant or Rejection of Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA).
At the time of travelling, carrying a copy of ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) is mandatory for the applicant. Before starting your journey, make sure that the status of ETA is 'GRANTED'.
Providing biometric details is mandatory for the applicant at the immigration on arrival in India.
From the date of arrival in India, an e-Visa is valid for 60 days. Double entry is allowed on e-Tourist Visa and e-Business Visa, while triple entry is allowed on e-Medical Visa.
24 designated airports allow entry to an e-Visa applicant, namely, Varanasi, Trivandrum, Tiruchirapalli, Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai, Mangalore, Lucknow, Kolkata, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Goa, Gaya, Delhi, Coimbatore, Cochin, Chandigarh, Chennai, Calicut, Bengaluru, Bagdogra, Ahmedabad and Amritsar. There also are 3 designated seaports for the same i.e. Mangalore, Cochin, and Goa. However, exit can be done from any of the authorized Immigration Check Posts (ICPs) in India.
In a calendar year, between the months of January and December, an e-Visa can be applied maximum for 2 times.
Please be aware that an e-Visa is non-convertible and non-extendable. Also, if you wish to visit Cantonment areas of Restricted / Protected Areas, an e-Visa is not valid for that. For visiting these areas, special prior permission must be taken from the Civil Authority.
If your number of unsuccessful attempts for applying for an e-Visa goes up from three, then the application id will be blocked automatically. Thus, one must be very careful while paying the fees of the e-Visa. If unsuccessful attempts have been more than three, then the applicant needs to apply afresh. Fill the application form again so that a new application id can be generated.
Because of network issues or technical reasons, it may take 4 hours for the updation of e-Visa fee payment status. Therefore, before one applies again, he/she must wait for four hours, after submitting the application and paying the fees.

Note: The visa requirements and procedures can change, so it is best to consult the official website of the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs or contact the Indian diplomatic mission/consulate in your country for the most up-to-date and accurate information regarding visa requirements, application procedures, and fees.