e-VISA norms liberalized by Modi Government
The Center government has liberalized e-visa norms, with effect from April 1, wherein foreign tourists visiting India can now stay up to two months instead of one, and avail double-entry benefits in a bid to boost tourism and hospitality services. India’s services trade has been estimated at about $270 billion.
“Duration of stay on e-visa increased from 30 days to 60 days with double-entry on tourist and business e-visas and triple entry on medical visas,” Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, in a statement. The double-entry benefit enables foreign tourists to visit neighboring countries like Bhutan. They can, then, return to India within the stipulated time.
The government also said that e-visas have been sub-categorized into e-tourist visa, e-business visa and e-medical visa. Further, the window for application under the e-visa scheme has been increased from 30 to 120 days. “Multiple entry tourist and business visas for a period of five years will now be available to nationals of most of the countries,” said Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry.
e-VISA norms liberalized by Modi Government
“Upon urgent requests, business visa and medical visa will be granted within 48 hours of application,” the minister added. She further informed that the decision to liberalize visa norms was decided by the Union Cabinet in November of last year.
The e-visa service in India is available to 161 countries for entry through 24 airports. The Ministry of Home Affairs said that separate immigration counters and facilitation desks to assist medical tourists have been provided at six major Indian airports, including Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Eligibility Criteria for e-visa:
International Travelers, whose objective of visiting India is recreation, sightseeing, casual visit to meet friends or relatives, short duration medical treatment or casual business visit.
Passport should have at least six months validity from the date of arrival in India.
The passport should have at least two blank pages for stamping by the Immigration Officer.
International Travelers should have return ticket or onward journey ticket, with sufficient money to spend during his/her stay in India.
International Travelers having Pakistani Passport or Pakistani origin may please apply for regular Visa at Indian Mission.
Not available to Diplomatic/Official Passport Holders or Laissez-passer travel document holders.
Not available to individuals endorsed on Parent’s/Spouse’s Passport i.e. each individual should have a separate passport. Not available to International Travel Document Holders.
Instructions for E-Visa
E-Visa has 3 sub-categories i.e., e-Tourist visa, e-Business Visa and e-Medical visa. A foreigner will be permitted to club these categories.
Applicants of the eligible countries/territories may apply online minimum 4 days in advance of the date of arrival with a window of 120 days. Example: If you are applying on 1st Sept then applicant can select arrival date from 5th September to 2nd January.
Recent front facing photograph with white background and photo page of Passport containing personal details like name, date of birth, nationality, expiry date etc are to be uploaded mandatorily by the applicant. Additionally one more document depending upon the E-Visa type would also be required to be uploaded. The application is liable to be rejected if the uploaded documents and photograph are not clear / as per specification.
E-Visa fee is country/Territory specific. Bank transaction charges of 2.5% will be charged additionally on applicable e-Visa fees. The fee must be paid at least 4 days before the expected date of travel otherwise application will not be processed.
E-Visa fee once submitted is non-refundable as the fee is for processing of the application and is not dependent on either Grant or Rejection of Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA).
Applicant should carry a copy of Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) along with him/her at the time of travel. Please confirm that your ETA status is shown as ‘GRANTED’ on this website prior to commencement of your journey. Applicants can track the status of their application online by clicking Visa Status
Biometric details of the applicant will be mandatorily captured at Immigration on arrival in India.
The validity of e-Visa will be 60 days from the date of arrival in India. Double entry is permitted on e-Tourist Visa and e-Business Visa. Triple entry will be permitted on e-Medical Visa.
e-Visa is valid for entry through 24 designated Airports (i.e. Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum & Varanasi) and 3 designated seaports (i.e. Cochin, Goa, Mangalore). However, the foreigner can take exit from any of the authorized Immigration Check Posts (ICPs) in India.
This facility is in addition to the existing Visa services.
e-Visa can be availed for maximum of two times in a calendar year i.e. between January to December.
e-Visa is non-extendable, non-convertible & not valid for visiting Protected/Restricted and Cantonment Areas.
e-VISA norms liberalized by Modi Government
