If you’re planning to visit India you need to get a visa to enter the country. The process may feel overwhelming at first, but it’s actually very easy, and you can do it yourself without having to rely on third-party travel agencies. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you get your online Indian e-visa.
An Indian e-Visa is a type of Visa that can be obtained online. The e-Visa system has been launched by the Government of India on November 27, 2014. Nationals of up to 166 Countries and Territories are now eligible to obtain an Indian e-Visa, which is accepted at 29 designated Indian Airports and 5 Indian Ports.
There are currently 6 types of visas available:
This blog post will focus on the application process for the most common visa for travellers: the e-Tourist Visa.
The Indian e-Visa has been extended to residents of 166 countries and territories. Residents of the following countries/territories are eligible for obtaining an Indian e-Visa:
Afghanistan Albania Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bolivia Bosnia & Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Union Republic Cape Verde Cayman Island Chile Colombia Comoros Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote d’lvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia 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 Republic of Korea Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Christopher and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent & 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 Togo Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Turks & Caicos Island Tuvalu UAE Uganda Ukraine United Kingdom Uruguay USA Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City-Holy See Venezuela Vietnam Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Citizens of Japan and South Korea can obtain a visa-on-arrival valid for up to 30 days, as long as they are not of Bangladeshi or Pakistani origins. Travelers who possess a “Persons of Indian Origin Card” and are nationals of the following countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) are not required to get a visa.
International Travellers having a Pakistani Passport or Pakistani origin need to apply for a regular Visa at Indian Mission.
Any external visa services promise to help you get your visa while speeding up the process. In reality, applying for your Indian Visa on any external website will end up in a huge waste of money – and surprisingly, even time!
We checked out iVisa.com in detail as it seems to be one of the most popular platforms out there that offers this service. After searching for a few minutes on their website (this is not the type of information they display clearly), we found what the total cost of an Indian Visa with them would be:
” The 30-day e-Visa generally comes with a government fee of USD $27.5. For each e-Visa type available we have 3 different pricing and processing options for you to choose from depending on how fast you need it to be processed.
30 day e-Visa:
– Standard Processing: 5 days – USD $89.49
– Rush Processing: 3 days – USD $141.49
– Super Rush Processing: 36 hours – USD $204.49 “
Now, if you haven’t applied for an Indian e-Visa yet you may be wondering whether that’s expensive or not, or even whether it’s fast or not.
It is. It is crazy expensive.
By doing it ourselves on the Indian Government’s official website we received our visa in less than 24 hours while only paying USD $25! Keep reading to learn how:
With the following guide, we hope you can find the process of getting an e-Visa Independently even easier.
The process is quite long and there are several details, files, and documents you need to upload. Make sure to have everything ready before starting the process. Here is what you need before applying for your e-Visa:
• For e-Tourist Visas (30 days) the application can be made up to 30 days in advance and a minimum of 4 days before the date of travel.
• For e-Tourist Visas (1 year / 5 years) visitors can apply up to 120 days prior to the date of their trip and no less than 4 days before the departure date.
The only official website to get an Indian e-Visa is the one provided by the Government of India: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html
At the bottom of that website, you can find an “Apply here for e-Visa” button. Tap on it to start the process!
On the first page, you are required to provide generic information about yourself, as well as your email address where you will receive the e-Visa.
On “Visa Service” you can choose the type of Visa you want to apply for:
The 30 days, 1 year and 5 years countdowns begin at the time of entry in India. It is not related to when you do the e-Visa process.
On the second page of the application, you are asked to fill in more information about yourself. This surprisingly includes your religion, education, and more. At the bottom, you can see a question that is often a matter of confusion. You may type “None” next to Visible identification marks if you don’t have any.
The last question on “Applicant Details” refers to the country you currently live in , and NOT to the country you are about to visit (India). Also, it refers to the country you currently live in and NOT to your birth country.
Still, on the second page, you will be asked to add your passport details and – optionally – to add a second Identity Certificate. By selecting “No“, the following fields disappear.
On the third page, you’ll need to fill in all the information about your present address and your permanent address.
Furthermore, you’re asked to provide your family’s information as well as information on your eventual marital status and your current profession. You are even asked to indicate if your parents or grandparents have Pakistani origins.
The process continues on the 4th page with information about your travel plans, expected port of exit, and places previously visited in India.
On this page, you’re also required to list the countries you’ve visited in the last 10 years.
SAARC stands for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and has eight member countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka).
You’re also asked to name a reference name in your home country and a reference name in India in order to get your Indian e-Visa.
The Indian e-Visa process requires you to indicate a reference name in India. If you happen not to know anyone in the country, you can fill in these fields with the information provided by one of the accommodations you’re staying at. Please ask your host for the details you need, and proceed with filling in your visa!
On the next page, you are asked questions about your criminal records. All answers are on “Yes” by default, make sure to read carefully, tick “No” to each of them and tick the bold declaration at the end of the page, then press continue.
After this step, you will be asked to upload your photos. First, you need to upload the image of yourself (photocard), then press continue. On a different page, you will be asked to upload a photo of your passport.
After the upload is complete, the process continues with the payment of the e-Visa fee.
By clicking on “Pay Now” you will be redirected to the payment page. The payment can be made via debit/credit card or PayPal. The payment must be made at least 4 days before the expected date of travel, otherwise, your Indian e-Visa application will not be processed.
Congrats! You’ve just completed the process for obtaining your Indian e-Visa! From this point, all you need to do is wait up to 3 days before you get your Indian e-Visa to the email address indicated at the beginning of the process.
Here is a list of the most frequently asked questions. For anything else please refer to the official e-Visa support center: indiatvoa@gov.in.
We paid €25 EUR ($25 USD) per person for our e-Visa. However, as the official Indian website says, the e-Visa fee is country/Territory specific. This means the price might change depending on where you are from.
The process to obtain an Indian e-Visa takes up to 72 hours, as stated on the Indian Government’s official website. Actually, it took less than 24 hours in our case.
The Indian e-Visa is accepted at 29 designated airports (Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kannur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Port Blair, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Varanasi & Visakhapatnam) and 5 designated seaports (i.e. Cochin, Goa, Mangalore, Chennai and Mumbai seaports).
The Indian e-Visa is currently not accepted at any of the Indian land borders.
Yes. You are required to bring with you a printed copy of your Indian e-Visa when entering the country.
This is what an Indian e-Visa looks like:
