India visa

For a trip to India, you need a valid visa or an electronic entry permit. Learn about the different visa types and get tips on how to apply.

You will need a visa or electronic travel authorization (e-Visa) to enter India if you do not have Indian, Maldivian, Nepalese, or Bhutanese citizenship.

To simplify travel to India, nationals of many countries (e.g., the entire European Union, Australia, and the United States) are exempt from visa requirements and can apply for so-called e-Visa.

After online approval, the e-Visa for India is valid for between 120 and 360 days (depending on the category) and entitles you to stay between 30 and 180 days for business, tourist, or medical purposes.

e-Visas are issued for different categories and validity periods, which may vary depending on your nationality. When applying for your e-Visa to India, you can choose from the following options:

*Tourists from the USA and Japan are allowed to stay in India for a total of 180 days at a stretch.

The list of participating countries in the e-Visa program for travel to India is dynamic. Currently, the following countries and regions are eligible:

Regardless of your nationality, you must provide information whether your parents or grandparents are from Pakistan or whether you were once a Pakistani national.

This information will affect your application's waiting time and approval but must not be concealed. Therefore, people with connections to Pakistan are advised to apply for a traditional visa at the Embassy instead of the e-visa.

The e-Visa is a travel authorization for nationals from visa-exempt countries. Getting an e-Visa is faster, cheaper, and less bureaucratic than getting a traditional visa.

Countries that are not approved for the e-Visa process can only apply for a visa at a diplomatic mission of India and must submit comprehensive personal data and documents for this purpose.

Besides being a citizen of one of the approved e-Visa countries, you need to meet a few other requirements to get an e-visa for India. These include:

• You plan to begin your India trip no earlier than in four days (but no later than in 120 days).
• You will be arriving by air or sea at e-visa approved airports or seaports.
• You intend to stay in India for a maximum of 180 days (or 30 days for tourists and conferences, or 60 days for medical travel).
• You have a passport valid for at least six months after arrival in India with at least two blank visa pages.
• You are in possession of a return or onward ticket that will take you out of India before the expiration of your e-visa and also have an entry permit for the respective country.
• You have sufficient funds for your stay in India and your return or onward journey.
• You do not have a residence or profession in India.
• You are not a persona-non-grata (undesirable person) for the Indian government.

To apply for an e-Visa for India, you will need the following documents:

• A passport that is valid for at least six months beyond the date of entry into India and contains at least two blank visa pages.
• A passport photo
• For eBusiness Visa: A copy of your professional business card
• For eMedical Visa: Letter from doctors or hospitals (including letterhead) confirming the date of admission
• For eConference Visa: Political clearance from the Indian Government's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and event approval from the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)

After applying for an e-Visa for business travel, you may be required to provide additional documents. These may include:

• A tax certificate
• Contact details of companies
• Invitation letters from companies
• Contracts confirming the necessity of your travel
• Copies of business licenses
• Additional business cards

When entering India, depending on the type of e-visa you have, you may still need to provide the following documents:

• Proof of your home address (e.g., in the form of a utility bill)
• Proof of your occupation or studies (e.g., a letter from your employer, pension papers, or a copy of your student ID)
• Proof of sufficient financial resources (e.g., a recent bank statement)
• Copies of your previous passports

During the e-Visa application process for India, you will be required to upload a photo of your face in addition to your passport. This photo must meet the following requirements:

• No more than three months old
• Digital color photo showing your face
• 2 x 2 cm or 350 x 350 px (square)
• White background
• Frontal view of your head, visible from hairline to chin
• Face centered in the middle Eyes open
• Neutral facial expression
• No glasses
• No headgear (except for religious purposes)
• No impurities, staples, tape, or shadows
• JPEG file
• 10 KB - max. 1 MB
• No photo grames or image borders

If you want to travel to India with minors, you need to apply for a separate e-Visa for each child. You may also be required to provide the following documents during entry:

• Photocopies of both parents driver's licenses
• Copies of the information pages of both parents passports
• Copy of the child's birth certificate, which includes the full names, date of birth, and citizenship of both parents
• Alternatively: notarized government documents certifying parenthood

The process for the Indian e-Visa takes between ten and fifteen minutes on the e-Visa application page of our partner iVisa. For this, have the following answers, documents, and data available:

• Personal information such as name, birthday, and place of birth
• Your religious affiliation
• Passport data and a digital copy of the passport
• A photograph that meets the e-Visa photo requirements
• A valid email address
• Your intended date of entry
• Your educational background and occupation
• Evidentiary documents that justify approval of your visa

During the application, you will also be asked about "Visible identification marks." This refers to obvious deviations from the norm, such as large moles, tattoos, or similar. If you do not have any of these, you can write "none" in the field provided.

You will go through the following steps in the application process:

• Complete the form and upload your photo and passport
• Upload of additional documents (depending on the type of visa)
• Payment of the visa fee
• Receive your visa in the form of an Electronic Travel Authorization/ETA by email

Once again, make sure all data is correct, print your travel authorization, and add it to your travel documents.

An approved e-Visa for India always has a fixed purpose to which you are bound as a traveler.

Follow the guidelines exactly to avoid getting into trouble with the Indian authorities. You can also apply for other visa categories such as work or student visas for India.

Should the authorizations of the common e-Visa categories "Tourist," "Business," "Medical," and "Conference" not be sufficient for you, for instance, because you want to live, work, or study in India, you can apply for a long-term visa. The choices include:

• Tourist visa (5 years)
• Business visa (5 years) E
• mployment visa (1 year)
• Project visa (depending on the project)
• Internal visa
• Film visa (project dependent)
• Student visa (length of study program / 5 years)
• Research visa
• Journalist visa

If your e-Visa for India has been rejected, there can be various reasons for this. The most common ones include incorrect information in the application (including spelling mistakes), missing documents, and incorrect formats of uploaded photos and documents.

Also, having ancestors from Pakistan, a criminal history, or the wrong passport issuing country (not an e-Visa country) will usually result in an e-Visa rejection.

The Indian government is unlikely to tell you the reasons for an e-Visa rejection, as officials are not required to do so. Nevertheless, in many cases, you can find them out by checking your details carefully.

After your India e-Visa rejection, you have the following options:

• Eliminate the reasons for rejection (in case of formal errors or spelling mistakes in your e-Visa application) and re-submit your application.
• Apply for a regular visa at the embassy or consulate (in case of rejection reasons related to your biography).

Before submitting a new e-Visa application, thoroughly check the accuracy of all data you entered and the completeness and formatting of all documents and photos for upload.

Have your travel documents ready for the border crossing at the airport or seaport in India. These include:

• Passport
• Printout of the approved ETA travel authorization (e-Visa) for India
• Documents proving your return or onward travel intentions
• Documents proving your sufficient finances
• Invitations from companies or medical practitioners in India (if applicable)
• Confirmations from Indian educational institutions (if applicable)
• Letter of approval from the Indian government (if applicable)
• Any travel documents from children traveling with you (if applicable)
• Arrival Card (also called “Information Card” or “Immigration Card”)
• Self Declaration Form

A border official will stamp your passport upon entry with your latest departure date. Double-check this date and stick to it.

Please observe the current entry regulations when entering India, including all safety instructions.

Before your entry, learn about the exact import regulations for India. Weapons, food, plants, fabrics such as wool and silk, animal products, medicines, and even certain books or printed matter may not be brought into the country.