How to get a Visa on Arrival or E Tourist Visa for India

indian visa

How to get a Visa on Arrival or E Tourist Visa for India.

 

2019 Update!

1 year online tourist, business and medical Indian Evisas are now available for citizens of 161 countries! Horay!

So you may not need this post anymore! Read this NEW post about how to get your 1 year Indian evisa online! 

 

Visitors of all nationalities, apart from citizens of Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan, require a visa before traveling to India so applying for a visa is an essential part of planning your trip to India. Recently the Indian government introduced new E-visas which has made getting a visa for India much quicker and easier.

This new E Tourist Visa is sometimes described as an Indian Tourist Visa on Arrival , however this is not really accurate as you still must apply for the visa before traveling to India but it does make it alot easier to visit India for short trips than before.

Here’s how to get a Visa on Arrival or E Tourist Visa for India

Citizens from 161 countries are eligible to apply online for an E Tourist Visa to India, including UK and Ireland, USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and many European Countries.

At first the ETA was only valid for 30 days and was only single entry (1 month) but now you can get a 60 days (2 months). The E Visa costs $60 (about £39) plus a small admin charge. The application process is fully online, you can apply a minimum of 4 days before you travel to India.

However, the E Tourist Visa is only good for short visits to India as it is only valid for a 60 days. If you want to make a longer trip to India you’ll want to apply for the old 6 month tourist visa which is more complicated so read my comprehensive guide to applying for an Indian  visa to guide you through the process.

Update April 2017: The E-visa now has three subcategories; e-Tourist Visa, e-Business Visa, e-Medical Visa. Double entry is permitted on E-Tourist Visa and E-Business Visa. Triple Entry will be permitted on E-Medical visa. The e-visa facility has been extended to the nationals of 161 countries for entry through 24 airports and 3 Indian seaports. The seaports are Cochin, Goa and Mangalore and the window for application under e-visa scheme has been increased from 30 days to 120 days.

How to apply for an Indian E Visa online

You can apply for an E Visa to India on the government website here, You then collect your visa on arrival at one of the major airports in India. 

Sounds easy but bear in mind that there is still quite a lot of paperwork to fill out and if you make a mistake on the forms you could be rejected and have to apply again. The fee for the visa and for processing for the application is non-refundable, even if the visa is not granted.

To take the stress and hassle out of applying for your Indian visa let iVisa sort everything out for you. They charge a service fee but offer a zero frustration policy and to simplify the process even more for you they accept applications at any time and will send your eVisa via email within 72 hours or even quicker if you pay more for rush processing.

The ETA is not extendable or convertible and you can only apply for 2 ETVs in 1 year. As the process is fully online (you are not required to send off your passport and wait for 2 weeks for the visa to be processed) the E Visa makes a quick holiday to India much easier.

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the-quick-and-easy-way to apply for your visa for india

The application process for the E Tourist Visa is now fully online and it takes 5-6 working days for approval. You must apply no later than 4 days before travelling to India.

 The cost of the E Visa depends on nationality.  For UK and USA citizens the cost of the E Visa has recently increased to USD $75 (about £54) plus a small admin charge. For many other countries, including most European countries and Australia the fee is $50. See the full list of eligible countries here.

However, if your parents or grandparents were born in Pakistan, you will be ineligible to get an E-Tourist Visa whatever your current nationality so unfortunately you will have to apply for a normal Tourist Visa.

passport and e tourist visa for india

How to apply for the E Tourist Visa (ETV)

You can apply for an E Visa to India on the government website here, no less than 5 days and no more than 30 days before the date of travel. When using the government website the E Visa is sent to you within 3 – 5 days. However, if you use an agent like iVisa you can apply anytime so you don’t need to worry about forgetting and your visa is processed and sent to you within 72 hours.

Your passport will need to be valid for 6 months and you will need to upload the photo page of your passport as well as a passport photo of yourself.

Fill out the (long) forms and pay the fee online with a debit or credit card. Your E Visa should be sent to you via email within three to five days and is valid for 30 days from the date of entry.

You then collect your visa on arrival at one of the major airports in India. Be aware that the scheme will now operate at 17 major international airports including; Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum and Varanasi. You can also enter at seaports in Goa, Cochin and Mangalore.

The Golden Temple in Amritsar
The Golden Temple in Amritsar

Remember to print off and carry a copy of your E tourist visa with you when traveling to India and present it at the immigration counter at the airport where the immigration officer will stamp your passport with your e-tourist visa for entry into India. You should have a return ticket and enough money to cover your expenses during your stay in India.

The E Tourist Visa is only valid for 60 days (and with so much to see, so much diversity and the challenges of traveling in India  1 or 2 months is nowhere near enough time in my opinion) The E Tourist Visa is not extendable or convertible and you can only apply for 2 E Tourist Visas for India in 1 year.

How to apply for the E Tourist Visa the easy, hassle free way …

The introduction of the E Tourist Visa has made the process of getting a visa for India much simpler, quicker and cheaper as you no longer have to send your passport away and wait for 2 weeks, however the forms are still very long, applying can be quite tedious and confusing and a small mistake can result in your application being refused.

To take the stress and hassle out of applying for your Indian visa let iVisa sort everything out for you. They charge a service fee but offer a zero frustration policy and to simplify the process even more for you they accept applications at any time and will send your eVisa via email within 72 hours or even quicker if you pay more for rush processing.

British Passport holders are now eligible for an E Visitor Visa for India!
British Passport holders are now eligible for an E Visitor Visa for India!

Need a longer Visa for India?

There is so much to see and do in India that a lifetime would not enough – many longer term travellers and backpackers still prefer the old 6 month multiple entry visas (you can also get 1 year and American’s are eligible for 10 year visas)  although the process for applying for these is more complicated so read my  my comprehensive guide to applying for an Indian  visa to guide you through the process.

Read More:

How to Apply for an Indian Visa (for UK citizens)

Indian Tourist E visa scheme extended to British Travellers

Indian E Tourist visa: essential Information

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6 comments

Yangchhen November 3, 2016 at 12:38 am

Dear Anna

I have a six month multiple entry tourist visa to India and travelling out from Vancouver .I would like to buy my return ticket when I am in India after I am certain of my return dates. I may allso go to Nepal

Please kindly advice me if I need a return ticket to gain entry to India. I have had conflicting information from travel agents. I know that this requirement is not stated on official website.

Many thanks,

N.Yeshi

Sent from my iPad

Reply
Anna November 3, 2016 at 5:40 pm

Hey, I understand your confusion as there is no official information on this that I know off but then I’m not an immigration officer. Most information states that you should have a return ticket (definitely if you have the 30 day e visa) but some people have been known to not be asked or to have been fine with saying they are going overland.

However, going to most countries on a one way ticket is not recommended as you can risk being denied boarding the flight or denied entry to the country.

I would advise you to contact VFS Global and ask them by emailing [email protected] or call +44 203 793 8629 or +44 203 788 4666 (Monday – Friday 8:30 – 15:30 (except for Consular Holiday) You can also call 09057570045 from Monday – Friday 8:30 – 17:30 (except for Consular Holidays) but this number charges 95p per minute from a BT landline and more from a mobile.

Sorry I cannot give you a definitive answer – its best to ask the professionals but I hope this helps and hope you have a good trip! 🙂

Reply
Bev whiting October 17, 2017 at 7:16 am

Oh my that should say scan not scam

Reply
Alex November 27, 2017 at 12:43 pm

Hi Anna, your post “HOW TO GET A VISA ON ARRIVAL OR E TOURIST VISA FOR INDIA” is very informative and useful for International people.Thanks for sharing with us.

Reply
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