Published on Friday, January 8, 2021
India's visa system is among the most complicated in the world, notorious for the sheer number of available visas and difficulties in navigating the official website. Furthermore, rules regularly change. For instance, until the beginning of 2019, the e-visa for India was only valid for 60 days. In April 2019, the validity of the e-visa for tourists and business travellers was extended to one year. Since a few months, a visa that is valid for one month and a visa valid for five years have also been introduced. For most travellers, one of these three e-visa is sufficient for a trip to India. However, travellers that do not meet the e-visa requirements must apply for a physical (paper) visa at the embassy. This article explains which visa must be applied for in which cases.
What type of visa should I apply for?
There are two types of visas available for India: the e-visa India (also known as Electronic Visa, eTourist Visa, eBusiness Visa, eMedical Visa or ETA) and the physical visa (as a sticker in the passport). The e-visa can be applied for on the website of the Immigration Department or at a visa agency, while the physical visa can only be applied for at Indian Embassy. Strictly speaking, the embassy has outsourced all visa matters, and applications are handled by VFS Global.
E-Visa
Travellers who meet the e-visa requirements are advised to apply for this visa instead of the physical visa. This is due to the fact that the e-visa for India can be applied for entirely online, removing the need to visit the embassy. Applying for a visa sticker at the embassy takes longer and is usually more expensive than applying for an e-visa. In addition, in order to apply for a physical visa, your passport must be handed in and picked up again at a later date. So at minimum, you need to make two trips to the embassy. The e-visa, on the other hand, is issued digitally and sent by e-mail after approval.
There are five types of e-visa for India. The most important ones are the eTourist visa (for tourists and travellers visiting friends or relatives in India), the eBusiness visa (for business travellers) and the eMedical visa (for travellers going to India for medical treatment). The eTourist visa is in turn divided into three types of visas, each with a different period of validity; one month, one year or five years. It is generally not recommended applying for the visa with a validity of one month. Travellers have reported problems with this type of visa, as the validity starts within 30 days after applying. This can result in the visa already having expired before the start of the trip, or halfway during the trip. The visa with a validity of one year is suitable for people who want to travel to India for a single trip, and for people who want to travel to the country several times (within one year). Travellers who already know that they will travel to India multiple times in the next five years should apply for a five-year visa.
There are some general requirements tied to this visa. For example, tourists are not allowed to stay in India for more than 90 days, business travellers for more than 180 days and medical visa holders for more than 60 consecutive days. You are not allowed to work, study or do an internship in India with an e-visa. In addition, the e-visa only allows you to arrive at India at specific airports and seaports
Permitted airports | |
AMD - Ahmedabad | ATQ - Amritsar |
IXB - Siliguri | BBI - Bhubaneswar |
BLR - Bangalore | CCJ - Calicut |
MAA - Chennai / Madras | IXC - Chandigarh |
COK - Kochi / Cochin | CJB - Coimbatore / Kovai |
DEL - Delhi | GAY - Gaya |
GOI - Dabolim (Goa) | GAU - Guwahati |
HYD - Hyderabad | JAI - Jaipur |
CCU - Calcutta | LKO - Lucknow |
IXM - Madurai | IXE - Mangaluru (Mangalore) |
BOM - Mumbai / Bombay | NAG - Nagpur |
IXZ - Port Blair | PNQ - Pune / Poona |
TRZ - Tiruchirapalli / Trichinopoly | TRV - Thiruvananthapuram / Trivandrum |
VNS - Varanasi / Benares | VTZ - Visakhapatnam |
Permitted seaports | |
Chennai (Madras) | Kochi (Cochin) |
New Mangalore | Mumbai (Bombay) |
Mormugao (Goa) |
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