If you are residing outside India except Nepal and Bhutan, you must have an Indian visa in order to enter into the country. You can go for an electronic visa if you are planning a short visit i.e. less than or for a year and you want to cut the hassle associated with the process of regular visa. One thing that every user must keep in mind that India e-Visa differs from regular visa. It can be applied online, sitting at your home and doesn’t burden your pocket, thus choosing it over traditional form of visa is quite obvious. There are multiple types of e-Visa available and each one of them serves a specific purpose. Let’s have a look at e-Visa types.
There are majorly three sorts of e-Visas available under the e-Visa for India scheme, namely e-medical visa, e-tourist visa, and e-business visa. Currently, two entries have been made in the categories of e-Visa, namely, e-medical attendant visa and e-conference visa.
Important note: The India electronic-visa has become even more convenient option as now it has been extended to one year for business and tourist visas. Moreover, now multiple entries with both the visas are allowed.
It began with a tourist visa on arrival scheme that was introduced on January 1, 2010. On November 27, 2014, it was eventually replaced by an online ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) scheme. In April 2015, the scheme was renamed to ‘e-Tourist visa India’ that replaced the visa on arrival facility introduced earlier. As of now, 169 countries have been made eligible by the Government of India to obtain e-Visa to India.
The members of eligible countries can apply for the visa online without getting involved in the hassle of visiting the Embassy. After, the e-Tourist visa got popular, two more categories were added to the list i.e. e-Medical and e-Business visas. With the introduction of all these categories, foreigners can visit India for sightseeing, casual visits to meet family or friends, business meetings, medical treatments, etc.
Later on, two more categories were added- e-Conference and e-Medical Attendant visa. Now, two attendants can accompany the medical patient visiting India for medical treatment. e-Conference Visa can be availed for participating in conferences or workshops in India.
The process of applying for an Indian e-Visa is quite simple and can be completed in a matter of minutes. Here are the steps you need to follow:
There are two sorts of e-Visa processings one can apply for i.e. Normal processing and Urgent processing. There are millions of applicants applying daily for Indian e-Visa and hence it takes time to receive the result for a particular application. However, those who are running out of time can avail the “urgent processing” facility. Let’s uncover the difference between Normal processing and Urgent processing:
You will receive the e-Visa within 4-7 days after submitting the application. This is the standard form of application. For normal visa processing, you need to select “Normal Processing” under the tab of “Application type”.
If you are applying for a normal visa, you will receive the e-Visa within 4-7 days after submitting the application. The normal processing is best if you have enough time and you have days to begin your trip.This is the standard form of application. For normal visa processing, you need to select “Normal Processing” under the tab of “Application type”.
If you are running out of time or you require an immediate visa, opting for urgent visa India is a suitable option for you. The urgent Indian visa processing will take 24-72 hours. In this case, your application will be processed on a priority basis and thus the verification process will be completed within 24-72 hours.
The e-Tourist visa is distributed under three categories as per the stay period. There is a one-month, one-year, and five-year e-Tourist visa. The One-month period allows double entry and the rest of two permit multiple entries. The continuous stay span cannot exceed 90 days except for the USA, UK, Canada and Japan as they are permitted to stay for 180 days in a continuous manner.
E-business visa comes with the one-year validity with multiple entries. It allows the continuous stay of 180 days for every country.
E-medical visa is valid for 60 days from the date of arrival and it allows triple entries.
Beware of Scammers:
Nowadays numerous commercial websites are conning people on the name of India online visa. But such sites do nothing but steal your money. So, it is advisable to apply for a visa through authentic resources. There is nothing wrong in taking help from third parties but make sure they are reliable and provide complete security.
As per the Indian government guidelines, there are few fixed eligibility criteria which determine whether you can get electronic-visa India or not. Check the below-given points and make sure your objective of visiting under falls under the specified criteria.
Albania | Andorra | Angola | Anguilla | Antigua & Barbuda |
---|---|---|---|---|
Argentina | Armenia | Aruba | Australia | Austria |
Azerbaijan | Bahamas | Barbados | Belgium | Belize |
Bolivia | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Btswoana | Brazil | Brunei |
Bulgaria | Burundi | Cambodia | Cameroon Union Republic | Canada |
Cape Verde | Cayman Island | Chile | China | China- SAR Hongkong |
China- SAR Macau | Colombia | Comoros | Cook Islands | Costa Rica |
Cote d'Ivoire | Croatia | Cuba | Cyprus | Czech Republic |
Denmark | Djibouti | Dominica | Dominican Republic | East Timor |
Ecuador | El Salvador | Eritrea | Estonia | Fiji |
Finland | France | Gabon | Gambia | Georgia |
Germany | Ghana | Greece | Grenada | Guatemala |
Guinea | Guyana | Haiti | Hondurasa | Hungary |
Iceland | Indonesia | Iran | Ireland | Israel |
Italy | Jamaica | Japan | Jordan | Kazakhstan |
Kenya | Kiribati | Kyrgyzstan | Laos | Latvia |
Lesotho | Liberia | Liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg |
Madagascar | Malawi | Malaysia | Mali | Malta |
Marshall Islands | Mauritius | Mexico | Micronesia | Moldova |
Monaco | Mongolia | Montenegro | Montserrat | Mozambique |
Myanmar | Namibia | Nauru | Netherlands | New Zealand |
Nicaragua | Niger Republic | Niue Island | Norway | Oman |
Palau | Palestine | Panama | Papua New Guinea | Paraguay |
Peru | Philippines | Poland | Portugal | Qatar |
Republic of Korea | Republic of Macedonia | Romania | Russia | Rwanda |
Rwanda | Saint Christopher and Nevis | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent & the Grenadines | Samoa |
San Marino | Senegal | Serbia | Seychelles | Sierra Leone |
Singapore | Slovakia | Slovenia | Solomon Islands | South Africa |
Spain | Sri Lanka | Suriname | Swaziland | Sweden |
Switzerland | Taiwan | Tajikistan | Tanzania | Thailand |
Tonga | Trinidad & Tobago | Turks & Caicos Island | Tuvalu | UAE |
Uganda | Ukraine | United Kingdom | Uruguay | United States |
Uzbekistan | Vanuatu | Vatican City-Holy See | Venezuela | Vietnam |
Zambia and Zimbabwe |
With an online Indian e-Visa, you will only be able to enter through the below-given airports and seaports.
Three seaports from where you can enter into India;
The government fee for Indian e-Visa varies from country to country. The fee is solely determined and collected by the Immigration department. However, if you make any changes in the form after paying the fee, you have to pay the fee again. Changes are considered as a new application and thus the same fee is charged.
The e-Visa fee as per the country is:
Our fee is the sum of the amount you need to pay in advance while filling the application form on the website. The service fee will cover services namely checking your documents, getting them verified by the officer and delivering you the result of the application i.e. approval or rejection.
All you need to do is, fill the form, upload documents and check out by paying the fee. After this, you need to wait for the result. The entire process will be done online and you have to pay the fee using the acceptable credit/debit card or PayPal account. Visa fee as per the processing time:There are two processing charges one is for normal processing and other for the urgent processing. The urgent processing fee is usually higher than the normal fee as you will receive the e-Visa within 24-72 hours.
Normal processing:If you are applying for a normal fee you will receive your e-Visa within a 4-7 business days.
Urgent processing:The urgent e-Visa will be sent within 24-72 hours.
There is no provision of paying the fee by cash. The e-Visa application is entirely an online process and hence the fee can be paid online only using Credit/Debit card or PayPal account. It is important to check the payment methods and be sure of it, before applying the visa.
The residents of Yellow Fever affected countries are required to carry Yellow Fever Vaccination Card at the time of arrival in India or they may be confined for 6 days upon arrival in India.
You will not need the e-Visa if you are transiting through India. But you will not be allowed to leave the transit area or go through customs.
You can take a printout of the mail and keep it with you when you visit India. The immigration officer will stamp your passport with the e-Visa for entry into India.
The visa fee has to be paid at least 4 days before the expected date of travel otherwise the visa application will not be processed.
No, a Pakistani cannot apply for e-Visa. International Travelers who have Pakistani Passport can apply for regular Visa at Indian Mission.
No, once your application has been submitted, visa fees are non-refundable.
e-Visa application process takes place online and there is no need to physically visit the Embassy and submit the documents. However, in case of a traditional visa, you need to contact the Embassy and submit all the required documents. Furthermore, the traditional visa takes more time in getting approved and reaching to you as compared to e-Visa.
Yes, you will need the visa even if you are travelling on a cruise. However, you will be allowed entry in India only via these five seaports: Chennai, Cochin, Mangalore, Mormugao, Mumbai New.
You can log in to your email account and reprint the e-Visa.