How to apply for an Indian visa

How to apply for an Indian visa online in 2023? (The latest information on Indian e-visa)

How to apply for an Indian visa online? 163 countries may simply apply for Indian e-visa online.

You don’t need to go to visa centres or an Indian consulate, just use the Internet.

Indian e-visa is valid for 30 days, 1 year and 5 years from the date of issue.
It allows the unlimited number of entries, although each entry should not exceed 90 days.

(Русская версия статьи: Электронная виза в Индию подробная инструкция в 2023 году.)

We’ve prepared full instruction on how to get a tourist Indian visa on-line.

1. How to apply for an Indian visa?

How to apply for an Indian visa? First, let’s take a look at the official website of the Indian government where you can apply for Indian e-visa to find out the requirements and other important information. Officially it is called “Indian e-visa” so that’s how we call it too.

Who can get Indian e-visa?

Albania, Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark,

Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue Island, Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the Cook Islands, the Netherlands, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Macedonia, the Russian Federation, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, UAE, UK, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

We are incredibly happy that the Indian government has made the procedure of applying for e-visa so simple for nationals of so many countries.

Requirements for getting Indian e-visa:

Purpose of your visit – tourism, medical treatment, business, medical escort, participation in a conference.
Your international passport must be valid for at least 6 months after your date of arrival to India.
The passport must contain at least two blank pages for Indian officials to stamp it.
Travellers also must have a return ticket and sufficient money for the duration of their stay.
Holders of diplomatic passport and children registered in their parents’ passports CANNOT get e-visa. They have to apply at the Indian consulate.
Visa applicant should apply at least 4 days prior to the departure to India.
The application must include a recent photograph (on white background) and a copy of your passport containing the following information: name, photo, nationality, expiry date, as well as other information (such as details of the host in case the purpose of the visit is medical treatment, business or participation in a conference).
Visa consulate fee can looking here.
Visa consular fee is not subject to reimbursement, even in case of rejection.
Applicant must have a printed copy of e-visa (either color or black-and-white) at all times while staying in India.
Biometric data will be collected at the airport or seaport upon arrival during the passport and visa check.
Indian e-visa is valid for 30 days, 365 days and 5 years (tourism) and 60 days (other purposes) from the date of completing visa check and passport being stamped by an Indian official (the date on the stamp is the first day of stay).
E-visa may be activated in 28 airports (Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Port Blair, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Trichy, Varanasi & Vishakhapatnam) and 5 sea ports (Cochin, Goa, Mangalore, Mumbai, Chennai).
Departure is possible through any authorized check-point (airport, seaport, land border).
Indian e-visa is issued once you arrive and may not be extended, and is invalid in some Indian states and special territories. To enter such states and territories one should have a permit; in some cases, foreigners are completely denied the entry (see more information on closed territories and permits on official web site of Indian embassy here).
Applicants can check if their visa is ready at Check your Visa Status section of e-visa web site.

Any questions can be addressed to the Indian helpline at +91-11-24300666 or by e-mail at indiatvoa@gov.in

2. Full instruction on how to apply for an Indian visa online.

(If you need help while applying for Indian e-visa, you are in the right place!)

Let’s take a look at the tourist visa form to learn how to apply for Indian e-visa.

Go to indianvisaonline.gov.in and press Apply here for e-visa.

E-visa application form. Step 1.

We see a new tab.

Fill in the following items:

Passport type – most likely you have an “ordinary passport”.
Nationality – enter the state that issued your international passport (for example, you may be Italian, but if you got your passport in the USA, choose the USA).
Port of arrival – airport / seaport where you arrive.
Date of birth DD/MM/YYYY.
Email ID, Re-enter Email ID – just fill in your e-mail address.
Expected date of arrival.
Choose the type of your visit:

E-TOURIST VISA

RECREATION/SIGHT-SEEING
MEETING FRIENDS/RELATIVES
SHORT TERM YOGA PROGRAMME
Enter access code – enter the code you see on the picture.

Press Continue and proceed.

E-visa application form. Step 2.

Surname – as shown in international passport;
Given name – as shown in international passport;
Have you ever changed your name? If you have, fill in the previous name;
Sex;
Town/City of Birth;
Country of birth;
Citizenship/National ID No. – N/A if none;
Religion – select from the list;
Visible identification marks – describe or “none”.
Educational Qualification — choose from the list
Did you acquire Nationality by birth or by naturalization?
Have you lived for at least two years in the country where you are applying visa?
Passport No. (international passport).
Place of Issue – state is enough;
Date of Issue;
Date of Expiry;
Any other valid Passport / Identity Certificate (IC) held – in case you have dual nationality.

Press Save and Continue.

E-visa application form. Step 3.

Present Address
House No./Street
Village/Town/City
State/Province/District
Postal/Zip Code
Country
Phone No
Mobile No
Permanent Address – press Click Here for Same Address if your present address is the same as the permanent address
Family Details – details of your spouse and parents (if any)
Father’s Details, Mother’s Details
Name
Nationality
Previous Nationality
Place of Birth
Country of Birth

Applicant’s Marital Status – Married/Single

Spouse’s Details – see above

Were your Grandfather/Grandmother (paternal/maternal) Pakistan Nationals or Belong to Pakistan held area?

Profession/Occupation Details of Applicant – if you are a freelancer, self-employed etc., indicate your home address.

Are/were you in a Military/Semi-Military/Police/Security Organization?

Press Save and Continue.

E-visa application form. Step 4.

Places likely to be visited – just draft a plan of your trip to India;
Expected Port of Exit from India – you may leave it blank;
Have you ever visited India before? If you have, fill in the following form;
Address (of the visited place);
Cities previously visited in India;
Last Indian Visa No. / Currently valid Indian Visa No.;
Type of Visa;
Place of Issue;
Date of Issue;
Has permission to visit or to extend stay in India previously been refused;

Countries visited in the last 10 years – may leave it blank;
Have you visited SAARC countries (except your own country) during the last 3 years? (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) Specify year and the number of visits if you have;
Reference Name in India – the name of your Indian host (you can fill in the name of your hotel);
Address – see above;
Phone – see above;
Reference Name in home country.

E-visa application form. Step 5

Open the next page, there are a few more questions to answer.

Have you ever been arrested/prosecuted/convicted by Court of Law of any country?
Have you ever been refused entry / deported by any country including India?
Have you ever been engaged in human trafficking / drug trafficking / child abuse / crime against women / economic offence / financial fraud?
Have you ever been engaged in cyber crime / terrorist activities / sabotage / espionage / genocide / political killing / other act of violence?
Have you ever by any means or medium, expressed views that justify or glorify terrorist violence or that may encourage others to terrorist acts or other serious criminal acts?
Have you sought asylum (political or otherwise) in any country?

Usually, everybody’s answer to all these questions is No. If there is a reason to answer Yes, you’ll have to explain the circumstances.

I hereby declare that the information furnished above is correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. In case the information is found false at any stage, I am liable for legal action/deportation/blacklisting or any other action as deemed fit by the Government of India.

Tick the box and confirm to proceed.

E-visa application form. Step 6.

How to upload documents to apply for Indian e-visa?

Requirements for uploaded documents:

Scanned passport spread with a photograph – PDF, 10–300 KB.
Photograph – JPEG, from 10 KB to 1 Mb, equal width and length, clearly visible full face with open eyes. The background should be white or light. No frames, shadows on the face or the background.

You can crop the photo after you upload it.

Upload your scanned international passport.

E-visa application form. Step 7.

After you’ve completed filling in the application form and uploading your documents, carefully check each item and correct any mistakes you find.

E-visa application form. Step 8.

How to pay for your Indian e-visa

You can either pay now or later (but remember, at least 4 days prior to arrival). Don’t forget to save or memorize your application’s ID if you want to pay later!

Choose the payment method: via PayPal or one of the Indian banks.

You can now pay the visa fee + 2.5% bank’s fee or 3% PayPal’s fee.

After payment is successfully made, you’ll see the following:

Press Generate Fee Receipt if you’d like to download a receipt.

The application process is completed! You’ll get the visa via e-mail, so don’t forget to check your inbox.

How to print Indian e-visa on the official form

After you get a notification that your visa is ready, go to Check your Visa Status section.

Enter your Application ID, Passport Number and the code you saved previously. Press check status.

Directly print your visa on the Print status page or save it as PDF to print later.

Indian e-visa on the official form

Don’t forget to print Indian e-visa (either colour or black-and-white) and take it to India!

Many readers ask us — is it possible to get to Bali now in a pandemic? The answer is yes, you can. Read our detailed instructions for obtaining a visa to Indonesia at the link:

How to get to Bali now? Electronic Visa to Indonesia!

Let’s keep in touch! Indian E-Visa

Instagram: @visa.in,
Our manager online WhatsApp

Contact us and we will do our best to answer any questions you might have! Good luck with getting an e-visa and have a great time in breathtaking India.

P.S. Special thanks to the translation agency (www.primavista.ru) for translating this article from Russian into English.

Best regards, the authors of the blog “Life with a dream” – Alexander, Natalia and the kids.