India renames Tourist Visa on Arrival Scheme to allay confusion
Following confusion over its terminology, the Indian government has renamed the Tourist Visa on Arrival Scheme to the Electronic-Tourist Visa (e-TV) effective from today.
Many Indian embassies overseas had said the name of the Tourist Visa on Arrival Scheme was misleading and had caught out many foreign travellers heading to India.
Despite its name, it did not technically offer a true visa on arrival service – travellers from 44 designated countries had to apply for a visa online four days before arriving and show a printout when arriving in India.
However many foreign visitors simply arrived hoping to pick up a visa on arrival at airport immigration desks.
"The earlier scheme clearly said it was Tourist Visa on Arrival Enabled by Electronic Travel Authorisation but the terminology was confusing. So it will now be simply called Electronic-Tourist Visa or e-TV," a Home Ministry official said.
"The process to change the name was on for more than two months. A parliamentary consultative committee had also suggested changing the name of the scheme and recently the Tourism Ministry had also asked for the same," he said.
It will continue to be offered to nationals of the 44 designated countries with plans to extend it to up 150 nations.
The government yesterday announced the first batch of 31 countries which will be added to the list from mid-June. These include United Kingdom, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, Malaysia and Argentina.
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