Blog About Latest Travel News, Guides and Tips : Guided Tours India: 43 countries to enjoy e-Visa in India

Visitors from over 40 countries, including Germany, the US, Israel, and Palestine, will soon be able to avail of the much-awaited electronic Visa (e-Visa) facility, which is set to be launched on today November 27. The e-Visa facility for 43 countries would be rolled out by Rajnath Singh, Minister for Home Affairs, Government of India, along with Dr Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State with Independent Charge for Culture and Tourism, and Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Government of India, said a senior Tourism Ministry official.

Russia, Brazil, Germany, Thailand, UAE, Ukraine, Jordan, Norway, and Mauritius, among others, would be getting the e-Visa facility in the first phase. The official said that Mexico, Kenya, and Fiji are also being considered for being given the e-Visa facility.

"It would be a historic occasion for the tourism sector as we were demanding this facility for long. The launching of e-Visa system for so many countries would boost the industry," said Subhash Goyal, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO).

All arrangements, including the software for the system, are now ready and would become operational at nine international airports -- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, and Goa.

In order to get an e-Visa, one would need to apply on the designated website along with the required fees. They would be granted an electronic version of the visa within 96 hours.

As per the government decision, all countries, except a few in the "prior list", would be brought into the e-Visa regime over the next two years. Barring a few like Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Somalia, all the countries will be covered under the e-Visa regime in phases, the official said.

The e-Visa is expected to give a big boost to foreign tourist arrivals in the country. About 51.79 lakh foreign tourists visited India during January-September this year. Thirteen countries currently enjoy the Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) facility, including South Korea, Japan, Finland, Singapore, New Zealand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos.

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Complete Information About Tourist Visa on Arrival

WHO ARE ELIGIBLE:

Nationals of the following countries- and the list will update and notified by the government from time to time.

Australia	Jordan	New Zealand	Singapore
Brazil	Kenya	Niue Island	Solomon Islands
Cambodia	Kiribati	Norway	Thailand
Cook Islands	Laos	Oman	Tonga
Djibouti	Luxembourg	Palau	Tuvalu
Fiji	Marshall Islands	Palestine	UAE
Finland	Mauritius	Papua New Guinea	Ukraine
Germany	Mexico	Philippines	USA
Indonesia	Micronesia	Republic of Korea	Vanuatu
Israel	Myanmar	Russia	Vietnam
Japan	Nauru	Samoa

VALID FOR:

ORDINARY PASSPORT HOLDERS WITH MINIMUM SIX MONTHS VALIDITY.
ENTRY INTO INDIA WITHIN 30 DAYS FOR THE DATE OF APPROVAL OF ETA.
VALID FOR 30 DAYS STAY IN INDIA FROM THE DATE OF ARRIVAL.
CANNOT BE AVAILED FOR THAN TWICE IN A CALENDAR YEAR.
FOREIGNERS WHO ARE VISITING INDIA FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF RECREATION, SHORT DURATION MEDICAL TREATMENT,CASUAL BUSINESS VISIT,CASUAL VISIT TO FRIENDS AND FAMILIES.

NOT VALID FOR:

FOREIGNERS TRAVELLING ON PASSPORTS OTHER THAN ORDINARY PASSPORT SUCH AS DIPLOMATIC, OFFICIALS, SPECIAL AND SERVICE PASSPORT.
SHOULD NOT HAVE A RESIDENCE OR OCCUPATION IN INDIA.
INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLERS HAVING PAKISTANI PASSPORT OR PAKISTANI ORIGIN.

PROCEDURE TO APPLY ONLINE:

Go to Website http://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa.html
TVoA LINKS CAN BE FOUND IN WEBSITE OF MINISTRY OF TOURISM, MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS, MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS & THE BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION.
ONLINE APPLICATION MUST BE SUBMITTED MINIMUM 4 DAYS IN ADVANCE AND A MAXIMUM OF 30 DAYS OF PROPOSED DATE OF TRAVEL.
RECENT FRONT FACING PHOTOGRAPH WITH THE WHITE BACKGROUND.
PHOTO PAGE OF THE PASSPORT TO BE UPLOADED WHILE APPLYING.

FEES:

USD 60/- ALONG WITH BANK TRANSACTION CHARGES PER PERSON WHICH IS TO BE PAID ONLINE, ONLY AFTER PAYMENT OF THIS FEE, ONLINE APPLICATION WILL BE PROCESSED.
ONCE PAID THIS IS NON-REFUNDABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO BE SUBMITTED ALONG WITH APPLICATION:

SCANNED PAGES OF THE PASSPORT CONTAINING PHOTO AND PERSONAL DETAILS.
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH TO BE UPLOADED- PHOTO SHOULD PRESENT FULL FACE, FRONT VIEW, EYES OPEN. BACKGROUND OF THE PHOTO SHOULD BE PLAIN LIGHT COLOR OR WHITE. NO SHADOWS ON THE FACE OR ON THE BACKGROUND.

SHOULD CARRY IN PERSON:

COPY OF THE ETA IN PERSON AT THE TIME OF ARRIVAL.
BIOMETRIC DETAILS OF THE APPLICANT WILL BE MANDATORILY CAPTURED AT THE TVoA COUNTER AT THE AIRPORT ON ARRIVAL IN INDIA.
RETURN TICKET OR ONWARD JOURNEY TICKETS WITH SUFFICIENT MONEY TO SPEND DURING THE STAY.

UPDATE/STATUS OF THE VISA:

APPLICANTS CAN TRACK THE STATUS ONLINE ON THE TVoA WEBSITE UNDER VISA STATUS BY ENTERING THEIR APPLICATION ID NUMBER AND PASSPORT NUMBER.
ONCE THE VISA IS ISSUED IT IS NON-EXTENDABLE, NON-CONVERTIBLE & NOT VALID FOR VISITING PROTECTED/RESTRICTED AND CANTONMENT AREAS.