This Article is published for the benefit of foreign nationals applying for an e-Visa to travel to India.

The e-Visa enables prospective visitors to pay the visa fee online and apply for an Indian Visa from his/her home country online without visiting the Indian Mission. Once approved, the applicant receives an email authorizing him/her to travel to India and he/she can travel with a print out of this authorization. On arrival, the visitor is required to present the authorization to the immigration authorities who would then stamp the entry into the country.

There are currently five recognized sub-categories of e-Visa: e-tourist; e-Business; e-Medical visa; e-Conference and e-Medical Attendant. The e-Tourist Visa which was introduced in September 2014 for nationals of 46 countries has now been expanded to nationals of 166 countries. The list of countries whose nationals are presently eligible for e-Visa is available here. There are specific eligibility criteria in the case of e-Visas which need to be fulfilled. The same can also be found here.

The Ministry of Tourism brought in several amendments to the e-Visa Regime in the past one year and most recently on February 15, 2019 to make India more tourist friendly. The most important / significant changes are summarized below:

• Duration of e-Visa: The maximum limit on the duration of stay in the case of e-Tourist and e-Business visas has been extended to 1 year with multiple entries, subject to the stay stipulations and registrations applicable for normal Tourist and Business Visas;
• Duration of stay per visit:
  • In the case of e-Tourist visas, continuous stay during each visit should not exceed 90 days (with the exception of USA, UK, Canada and Japan nationals who can extend their stay up to 180 days);
  • In the case of e-Business visas, continuous stay during each visit should not exceed 180 days. Also, no registration with FRO/FRRO will be required if the period of stay is less than 180 days;
• Number of Entries allowed, and number of times visa can be issued in a year: This has been changed to multiple entries and multiple times respectively;
•  E-visa entry airports: The number of e-visa entry airports has been increase to 28;
• No separate category for destination weddings: No separate category has been introduced for destination weddings. This will continue to fall within the purview of normal Tourist/e-tourist visa; and
• Conversion of Visa Category for Medical Treatment in India: Foreign nationals who fall sick during their stay in India are now permitted to avail medical treatment without converting their visa into Medical Visa.

We will continue monitor and provide regular updates on this subject.