India e-Visa Guide: A Smart Choice for Aspirants

Are you the one who is consistently looking help regarding Indian visa? We are here trying to guide you. Getting a visa to India seems quite complicated for naïves as Indian visa application process is lengthy and time-consuming unless you are going for Indian e-Visa. Government of India has recently introduced the electronic form of visa which can be applied online anytime. Keeping the traditional India visa aside, we will be discussing the Indian e-Visa pros and cons here.

Latest updates:

September 2019:

The e-Tourist is now categorized into three types on the basis of its validity span. Now, we have e-Visa for one month, one year and five years. However, the continuous stay period cannot be exceeded 30 days for one month Visa and 90 days for one year & five year visa. However, business visa and medical visa still have the same policies. 

 April 2019: 

The Indian Ministry has recently extended the validity of e-Tourist visa and e-Business Visa from the date of grant. The aspirants from US, UK, and Japan can now stay for 180 days in India and other countries can stay for 90 days in a continuous manner. Also, the multiple entries are allowed to applicants of e-Tourist and e-Business Visa.

How to Get e-Visa for India:

Make sure you properly understand the difference between visa-on-arrival and Indian electronic visa. It is important to have the e-Visa on your email and a printed copy of the same for getting the stamp from destined airport or seaport. So, you first need to apply on the official website by fulfilling the requirements and finally get it on your mail. You can also get emergency e-Visa within 24-72 hours but you need to provide the proofs for your travel intentions.   

Here is the Process to Apply Indian E-Visa:

To apply for an Indian visa, you need to follow proper visa process. Follow the steps given here below:

• First, you need to fill the online application form and then upload a scanned image of passport page.
• After filling the form dully, you need to check out using your credit/debit card or payment wallet.
• You will receive the ETA on your email id.
• Print the ETA and take it along while traveling to India. The printed visa will be required for the stamping on the passport.

Types of e-Visa:

E-Visa is divided into three categories and each of them serves a different purpose. So, let’s roll through the details before choosing a category: 

e-Tourist  Visa

e-Business Visa

e-Medical Visa

Important note: Two additional categories have been added namely e-Medical attendant visa and e-Conference visa. FYI, for one medical-visa, two medical-attendant can be applied. 

Choosing the right category plays an important role in the acceptance or rejection of your visa. A quick overview of each visa type is given here below:

e-Tourist visa:  It is meant for those who want to visit India for recreation, sightseeing, meeting relatives/friends or attend destination weddings.

e-Business Visa: Planning a trip to India for business expansion? You need to apply for E-Business Visa. With this, you can attend meetings to establish your business or perform promotional activities.

e-Medical visa: It enables you to find a cure in India for your medical condition. But you must have the prescription and letter from the institution that you are going to visit for your treatment.

E-Medical attendant visa: This visa is available for those who want to accompany the patient visiting India. Only two visas can be applied for one e-medical visa.

E-Conference visa: It is valid for those who want to visit India for attending conferences or seminars organized by government or non-government organization. Due to a recent update, the visa can be used to attend the seminars held by private sectors. 

The Validity of e-Visa: 

e-Tourist visa: it is valid for one month, one year and five years from the date of grant depending upon your case. 

E-Business Visa: It is durable for one year from granted date

E-Medical visa: The validity of the visa is 60 days from the date of arrival.

E-Medical attendant visa: 60 days from the date of arrival

E-Conference visa: It is valid for 90 days from the date of arrival.

Permitted countries:

Passport holders of the following 166 countries: Albania, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon Union Republic, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Island, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote d’lvoire, 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, Honduras, 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, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and 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 and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Island, Tuvalu, UAE, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City-Holy See, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Important note: People with the Pakistani origin or parents/grandparents from Pakistan or born in Pakistan, cannot apply for an Indian e-Visa. They can apply for the traditional or normal Indian visa.

Indian Visa Requirements:

• A scanned image of passport size photo
• A scanned image of bio page of your passport
• Medical documents in case of medical visa India 
• Business card or invitation letter for e-Business Visa

Instructions for ETV Visa India Applicants:

• People applying for e-Conference visa are restricted to perform only to permit activities. 
• For medical and business visa, one can apply for the visa minimum four days before and maximum 120 days before.
• The Indian e-Visa fee is non-refundable.
• It cannot be converted from one type to another.
• It is important to carry a printed copy of ETA while traveling to India.
• Applicants from the Yellow fever country must carry the Yellow fever vaccination card.

Check Ports:

If you are applying for an Indian visa online, you can only enter through permitted airports and check ports. Below are the authorized airports and seaports. 

• Ahmedabad
• Amritsar
• Bagdogra
• Bangalore
• Calicut
• Chennai
• Chandigarh
• Cochin
• Coimbatore
• Delhi
• Gaya
• Goa
• Guwahati
• Hyderabad
• Jaipur
• Kolkata
• Lucknow
• Mangalore
• Mumbai
• Nagpur
• Pune
• Tiruchirapalli
• Trivandrum
• Varanasi

Also, you can enter these three seaports:

• Kochi
• Goa 
• Mangalore 
• Mumbai
• Chennai

Want to Visit protected/restricted area? Read it first:

If you are visiting India and planning a trip to restricted areas such as Arunachal place, drop the idea right there as it can put you in legal trouble. In order to visit the protected areas, make sure you have the PAP that stands for Protected Area Permit. The requirements of Pap for different areas differ. Furthermore, you can obtain PAP after arriving in India.

Indian e-Visa fee:

The Indian visa cost varies for each type. Here is the list:

Indian e-Business, e-Medical, e-Medical Attendant and e-Conference Visa Fee; September 2019 Updated

It is free for the citizens of:

Citizens of Argentina, Cook Islands, Fiji, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, Niue Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uruguay, and Vanuatu.

How Many Times in Year e-Visa Can be Applied? 

You can apply for a visa to India as many times as you want as the GOI has recently removed the limitations.

How Long It Takes To Obtain The e-Visa?

There are two types of processing available for all e-Visa types. One is Normal processing and another one is Urgent processing. However, none of the visa processing enables you to obtain an instant visa. Minimum it takes 24-72 hours, depending upon your application to get the Visa on your email. You get an option to choose the visa type under the “Application type” drop down menu. Indian visa processing time may vary for each applicant. 

What Is The Difference Between An Urgent Visa and Normal Visa?

Normal processing: The normal visa can be obtained in 4-7 days. It is best for patient applicants who have an ample amount of time. So, if you have a week or more, don’t rush and simply choose Normal processing for your visa.

Urgent processing: If you fall into a situation where traveling to India becomes a necessity in the least possible time, go for an urgent visa. The reasons for availing urgent e-Visa can be; death or illness of a family member or relative, and important business meetings, etc. But to avail this visa, you need to provide the proofs of urgency and the status of approval will depend upon the severity of your case.

Why Using Third Parties Is Preferred?

If you are planning to apply for Indian e-Visa, going with Indian Government website can be a big turn-off as it demands a lot of time and effort. But there are third parties who can help you with the application as well as visa-processing and even guide you with all precautions you need to avoid the visa rejection. Also, the official site often gets stuck at crucial moments which never happens with the independent sites. Above all, they offer you a great customer service and handle your queries/concerns really well. So, find an authentic third party site and apply your Indian online Visa with ease.