If you are planning to visit India you need to get a visa to enter the country. Here is our step-by-step guide to help you apply for your India e-Visa.
What is a visa?
A visa for travel is an official document that allows the visitor to legally enter a foreign country.
The visa is usually stamped or glued into the holder’s passport.
There are different types of visas that each allow the holder different rights in the host country including tourist, work, business, or transit visas.
You will probably need a visa for India.
Almost everyone needs a visa to visit and travel in India. But for most nationalities a tourist visa is easy to get.
Citizens of 164 countries – including New Zealand, Australia, UK, US, most nations in the EU and many countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East – can apply for an e-Visa for India before traveling.
What is an e-Visa and how does that work for India?
An e-Visa for India is an electronic visa application. Back in the day the only way to apply for a visa for travel meant visiting an embassy or consulate to receive a hard-copy visa directly in your passport.
Now it is possible to apply for an Indian e-Visa which, if successful, grants you authorization to enter India by applying online.
Assuming the application is accepted you will receive a digital Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) by email which you need to print out and carry with you when you travel to India.
Types of India e-Visa
There are currently 6 types of Indian e-Visas available:
- e-Tourist Visa
- e-Business Visa
- e-Conference Visa
- e-Medical Visa
- e-Medical Attendant Visa
- e-Emergency X-Misc Visa
This blog post will focus on the application process for the most common visa for travellers to India; the e-Tourist Visa.
So, what do you need before you apply for your Indian e-Visa?
You need some patience. And about an hour…
And you do need to prepare a few specific documents and information.
DOCUMENTS:
- Passport photo: A recent passport photo of yourself that is at least 10KB and a maximum 1MB. The photo must show the full face with a white or light-coloured background. The photo must be in JPEG format.
- Scanned Passport ID Page: Scanned ID page of your passport in PDF format. Size must be between 10KB and 300KB.
INFORMATION:
- Contact in India: In the application you will be asked to provide information about a reference name in India. If you don’t have a personal contact in India you can use the name and address of your first accommodation in India.
FEE:
- Your e-Visa fee payment: You can make an online payment for your India e-Visa using a VISA or MasterCard or via PayPal.
Note also that your passport needs to be valid for six months beyond the date of entry and you need two spare pages for the visa, which will be physically stamped into your passport on your arrival in India.
How long is the visa valid for? How long can you stay in India?
Tourist e-Visas for India are available for 30 days, 1 year or 5 years, with the 1- and 5-year visas allowing for multiple entry. (Note that for the 1- and 5-year visas there are restrictions on continuous stays during that time of 90 or 180 days depending on your nationality).
This blog post will focus on the application process for the eTourist Visa (for 30 Days).
How to apply for an India e-visa
There is only one official website to get an Indian e-Visa provided by the Government of India: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html
Follow the link and let’s get started.
On the website homepage click on the ‘Apply here for e-visa’ tab on the bottom left of the screen.
Page 1 – e-Visa Application
Fill out the first page with generic information about yourself as well as your email address (this is where you will receive the e-Visa).
Under “Visa Service” you can choose the type of Visa you want to apply for:
- eTourist Visa (for 30 Days)
- eTourist Visa (for 1 Year)
- eTourist Visa (for 5 Years)
- TIP: The 30 days, 1 year and 5 year e-Tourist Visa validity period begins from the date of first arrival in India. (It is not related to when you submit the e-Visa application). If applying for a 30-Day India Visa your successful application will be granted with 30 days until the Date of Expiry of the ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation). Make sure this covers beyond your expected Date of Arrival.
Page 2 – Applicant Details
The second page of the application asks you to fill in more information about yourself. The forms ask you about religion, education and more. (You may type “None” next to ‘Visible identification marks’ if you do not have any to note).
- TIP: Take note of the Temporary Application ID number that pops up at this stage (just in case you hit save and exit the application by mistake). You will need this to log back in if you exit the page.
The last question under ‘Applicant Details’ asks, “Have you lived for at least two years in the country where you are applying visa?” This refers to the country you currently live in and not your birth country (and not India), in case they are different.
Add your passport details and – optionally – you can add a second passport. If you select “No” the form fields will disappear.
Page 3 – Applicant Details
On the third page you need to fill in all the current information about your present and permanent address. You need to provide your family information (Mother and Father’s details) as well as your profession, occupation and marital status.
You are also asked on this page if your parents of Grandparents (paternal or maternal) are of Pakistani heritage.
Page 4 – India Travel Plans
This page requires information about your travel plans in India including your expected Port of Arrival, planned Port of Exit and places you have previously visited in India.
Under ‘Other Information’ you are also required to list the countries you have visited in the last 10 years(!).
And the next step asks if you have visited SAARC countries during the last three 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 will need to list any of these if you have visited recently.
You also need to name a reference in name in India and a reference name in your home country.
- TIP: If you do not know anyone in India you can fill in these fields with the information provided by one of the accommodations you are staying at.
Page 5 – Declarations
This page asks about any criminal records. Note that all the answers are on “Yes” by default. Make sure to read the page carefully and click the box for “No” to each of them. Tick the bold declaration at the end of the page and press ‘Continue’.
Page 6 – Upload Documents
After the above step you will be asked to upload your photos. First upload the passport image (photo) and press “Continue”. On a different page, you will be asked to next upload a photo of your passport ID page.
After the uploads are complete, the next step is the payment of the e-Visa fee.
Page 7 – Online VISA Fee Payment
Check and read the information before selecting “Yes” and “Pay Now”.
- TIP: Be sure to record or screenshot the Application ID as you will need this number to check the payment status (and for trying again if the first payment doesn’t go through!).
You will be redirected to the payment page and can now made your e-Visa payment by debit or credit card or PayPal.
Note that the payment must be made at least 4 days before your expected date of travel, or your Indian e-Visa application will not be processed.
There is a 2.5% bank charge for payments made on the website, in addition to the e-Visa fee. (Your own bank may also charge you for a foreign currency transaction fee or conversion).
The payment for the Indian e-Visa is non-refundable, whether or not your application is successful.
Page 8 – Application complete
Congrats! You have just completed the process of applying for your Indian e-Visa!
Now all you need to do is wait (processing time up to 72 hours) until you receive confirmation (and hopefully your Indian e-Visa) to the email address you supplied on Page 1.
- TIP: When you receive your Indian e-Visa it is titled as an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation). Make sure you double check all details are correct and that the Date of Expiry of ETA is beyond your expected date of arrival in India.
More – IMPORTANT – info about the India e-Visa
For all further information (and to clarify anything official) refer to the e-Visa support center website.
How long does it take to receive the visa after applying?
It states on the official website that it takes up to 72 hours to process, so be sure to apply in plenty of time (at least more than 4 days in advance). *In actual fact it took less than 48 hours for our Indian e-Visa to be granted.
Your Visa will be granted with 30 days until the Date of Expiry of the ETA from the date you submit your application.
When can you apply for an India 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. As above, it can take up to 72 hours to process (though our processing time was less than 48 hours).
- 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.
Do I need to print my India e-Visa?
Yes. You do need to print your India e-Visa. You are required to bring a printed copy of your e-Visa when you enter India.
Before you arrive in India
Once you’ve submitted your e-Visa application and payment you should receive and email confirming the application has been successfully received.
The processing time is then up to 72 hours and if your application is successful, you will be notified by a further email that will hopefully include, “Application Status: Granted”. (Note that your India e-Visa is also referred to as Electronic Travel Authorization ETA).
- TIP: Make sure to review your personal details on the ETA and the Date of Expiry of ETA in the email and make sure everything is correct and accurate.
As above, you need to print a copy of your e-Visa and download the email or screenshot the e-Visa to your phone.
- TIP: It is likely you will be asked to show proof of your Indian tourist visa at the check-in desk when departing your home country or flight to India.
When you arrive at immigration in India you should see a specific line for people with e-Visas. Here you simply need to present you printed-out e-Visa along with your passport. Your photo and fingerprints will be taken (this is standard practice). The immigration officer will ask you a few questions about your planned trip in India and stamp your passport.
WELCOME TO INDIA.
More about travel planning for India and beyond…
These are the companies we use while traveling fulltime as a family and that we would recommend to anyone planning and booking travel.
- Booking.com – The best all-around accommodation booking site that constantly provides the cheapest and lowest rates. They have the widest selection of budget accommodation and it’s easy to filter and sort into price and availability with all the extras you are looking for personally.
- Hostelworld – The largest inventory of hostel accommodation in the world.
- Skyscanner – This is by far our favourite flight search engine. They are able to search small websites and budget airlines that larger search sites often miss. We book all our flights through Skyscanner.
- GetYourGuide – Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace for tours and excursions offered all around the world including everything from walking tours, to street-food tours, cooking classes, desert safari’s and more!
- World Nomads – Travel insurance tailored for longterm travel and nomads (including those who have already left home).
Read more about India
- Managing your money in India: ATMs, withdrawing and exchanging rupees.
- Our complete packing list for India: Everything you need.
- Train travel in India: A complete guide.
- Five days in Kerala: The best introduction to India.
- The Sacred River Ganges: Two days in Varanasi with kids.
- A desert camel safari in Jaisalmer: Not once (but twice).
- A bread bucket-list: 12 Indian breads you need to try.