India to launch e-Visa by the end of October - Government’s gift to tourists

Tourists from about 30 countries, including the US, Japan and South Korea, may get the benefit of  e-visa from October-end.

Government's gift to tourists — electronic visa — is likely to be launched by October-end. There are about 30 countries including the US, Japan and South Korea where the facility will be extended first while Germany, Israel and Russia are under consideration.

Sources said countries already being given visa-on-arrival including New Zealand, Luxembourg, Finland and Singapore besides Japan, South Korea and the US will be able to apply for electronic travel authorization (ETA) or e-visa. There are at least a couple of countries from the African continent that are also in consideration. Sources said Germany, Israel and Russia were also being actively considered.

Once implemented, ETA will allow foreign travelers to apply for a visa and receive an online confirmation within three to five working days. ETA will be available for a 30-day period from the date of the tourist's arrival in India. The government plans to establish a separate website to extend the facility to foreigners intending to visit India as tourists. To get the visa, they would need to apply through the designated website along with the required fees.

The e-visa scheme received PMO nod in June and is expected to be implemented in time for the country's tourist season.

The countries that are unlikely to be on the list include Saarc nations and countries that are on "prior reference'' list which include Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Afghanistan.

This is the first time that electronic visas will be implemented in the country. Officials said plans were afoot to include all 109 countries in a phased manner.

The government has been encouraged by the good response to the visa on arrival scheme to extend ETA to the 12 countries. Between January and September 2014, 19,290 visas on arrival were issued compared to 13,859 during the same time last year, reflecting an increase of 39.2%. The countries that already have visa on arrival scheme include Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Finland, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Luxembourg.

Source: timesofindia