Visa policy of India

Foreign nationals possessing an Overseas Citizen of India card or a Persons of Indian Origin Card are exempt from visa requirements and may live and work in India without any limit of stay.[2] Nationals of Bangladesh and Pakistan are not entitled to hold Overseas Citizenship of India.

In October 2013, India decided to initiate the process of extending visa-on-arrival access to 40 more nations.[30] In January 2014, plans were confirmed by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Planning of India.[31] The sixteen different types of visa would also be reduced to three: work, business and tourism.[32] The proposal initially met resistance from intelligence agencies and the possible problem of queues emerged.[33][34]

In February 2014 it was announced that Indian intelligence agencies had given their approval to visa-on-arrival for up to 180 countries, largely due to the new possibilities provided by the Immigration, Visa and Foreigners' Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) system. The system would not be a typical visa on arrival in order to avoid clutter at the airports, but a system based on a prior online application modelled after Australian Electronic Travel Authority system.[35][36][37]

On 5 February 2014 it was decided to introduce visa-on-arrival to tourists from 180 countries. Technical implementation, such as setting up the website for applications, was expected to take about 6 months and the authorities hoped to have it in place for the tourist season beginning in October 2014. Prospective visitors would have to pay a fee and the electronic version of the visa should be granted within three days. The program was expected to apply to all international airports. However, nationals of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan were to be excluded from this program.[38]

In July 2014 it was announced that India hoped to implement the program for citizens of 40 countries in the first phase by December 2014 and later on for 109 additional countries if the first phase were implemented successfully.[39]

In August 2014 it was revealed that ministries of Tourism, Home Affairs and External Affairs could not agree on the list of countries for the ETA. The Ministry of Tourism proposed to allow the new system for the citizens of the 15 countries with the most visitors to India, the Ministry of External Affairs proposed to create a balanced list with some Asian and African countries, while the Ministry of Home Affairs proposed to exclude all countries with high security concerns.[40]

In September 2014 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the United States would be added to the list of countries whose citizens may obtain a visa on arrival.[41] However, in October 2014 the planned introduction of the new e-Visa system was pushed from 2 October 2014 to June 2015.[42] It was also revealed that the list of visa on arrival countries was unlikely to be expanded in 2014.[43]

In November 2014 it was announced that the e-visa system might be rolled out for about 25 countries including the 13 countries that were already eligible for visa on arrival.[44] Later that month it was announced that 28 countries would become eligible for an electronic visa on 27 November 2014 and that the list would include visa on arrival eligible countries as well as Brazil, Germany, Israel, Jordan, Mauritius, Norway, Palestine, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States.[45][46]

In November 2014, the Indian Prime Minister announced visa on arrival facility for nationals of all Pacific countries and Australia.[47][48]

The manual processing of the visa on arrival was discontinued in January 2015.[49] Until 26 January 2015, citizens of the following countries holding ordinary passports were granted visa on arrival without obtaining an ETA (unless they were of Pakistani origin), for a single stay up to 30 days in India when traveling as a tourist or for visiting family or friends:[1][50][49]

In February 2015, the Ministry of Tourism proposed extending the facility to citizens of China, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy and Malaysia.[51] Subsequently, the Minister of Finance announced that the facility would be extended, in stages, to citizens of 150 countries.[52] In March 2015 it was announced that 53 nations were shortlisted for the second round of expansion of the system based on the number of tourist arrivals in the previous years.[53]

After the Government was criticised for naming the new policy "Visa on arrival" it decided to rename it to "e-Tourist Visa (eTV)" in April 2015.[54][55]

The e-Tourist Visa facility was extended to 31 new countries on 1 May 2015.[56]

In May 2015, Indian Foreign Ministry announced that Chinese citizens will be able to apply for e-Tourist Visa facility in order to coordinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting China between 14 and 16 May. Disputes about the Sino-Indian border and national security would be postponed.[57]

On 29 July 2015 Indian Ministry of Home Affairs announced the extension of e-Tourist Visa facility to China, Hong Kong and Macau with effect from 30 July 2015.[58]

The list of eligible nationalities was extended with 36 new countries on 15 August 2015. On the same day the list of eTV airports was expanded with 7 new airports.[59] The extension to 150 nationalities was scheduled to be finished by 31 March 2016.[60]

In September 2015 it was announced that the list would be expanded by another 37 countries.[61]

In January 2016 it was announced that the extension would take place by March 2016.[62] In November 2015 it was announced that the visa validity will be extended to 180 days.[63]

In January 2016 it was announced that the multiple entries would become available and that e-Tourist Visa holders would receive a gift pack on arrival.[64]

The eTV list was extended for tourists from 37 more countries on 26 February 2016.[65]

In September 2016 it was announced that the electronic visa scheme would be reformed to include 27 visa codes denoting various visit purposes such as tourism, business or medical visits.[66] It was also announced that the list of visa on arrival eligible countries would be expanded.[67]

On 30 November 2016 the Government of India approved further liberalization, simplification and rationalization of visa regime in India. It also announced that more countries would be added to the e-visa list.[68] The e-visa would have a validity of 60 days and could be applied for by foreign nationals up to four months ahead of the visit.[69] Five seaports – Mumbai, Kochi, Chennai, Goa and Mangalore – would receive tourists coming with e-visa.[70]

From 1 April 2017 e-visas are granted under three categories of tourist, business and medical. The window for application under e-visa scheme was increased from 30 days to 120 days, and duration of stay on e-visa was increased from 30 days to 60 days, with double entry on e-tourist and e-business visa, and triple entry on e-medical visa.[71] The list of eligible nationalities was also further expanded with 11 new countries,[68] and the list of arrival ports was increased from 16 to 24 airports and 3 seaports.[5]

In July 2017 Uganda was added to the list of e-Visa eligible countries.[72]

During 2018, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Qatar were added to the list of e-Visa eligible countries.[20][21][22]

In January 2019 the Indian government updated e-Visa rules for all eligible countries. The validity of Indian e-tourist and e-Business Visa was increased from 60 days with double entry to up-to 1 year with multiple entries. The validity count starts from the day of being granted the e-visa online and not from the day of physical entry as before.[73]

For e-tourist visa, continuous stay during each visit shall not exceed 90 days for all eligible nationals of e-tourist visa except for nationals of US, UK, Japan and Canada. For nationals of US, UK, Japan and Canada, continuous stay during each visit should not exceed 180 days. No FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Officer) registration is required.

For e-business visa, continuous stay during each visit should not exceed 180 days for nationals of all countries who are eligible for grant of e-business visa and no FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Officer) registration is required if the stay is for less than 180 days.

During 2019, Saudi Arabia, Belarus and Benin were added to the list of e-Visa eligible countries.[23]

In August 2019, Indian Government announced a 30 Day Visa during the peak season for 25 Dollars.[74]

During 2020, Equatorial Guinea and Togo were added to the list of e-Visa eligible countries.[5]

During 2021, Canada, the United Kingdom and several Asian countries were removed from the e-Visa facility,[75] and Afghanistan was added.[76]

In 2022, the Indian government announced plans to introduce an Ayush visa for those coming to India for traditional medicine.[77]

As of 31 March 2013, Pakistani citizens over the age of 65 with the sole objective of meeting friends or family are granted a 45-day visa upon arrival at the Attari-Wagah Checkpoint, so long as the applicant provides a sponsorship certificate from their contacts in India attesting that they will be responsible for the visit of their Pakistani friend or relative, and which must also be countersigned by a DM, SP, SDM, Tehsildar, BDO, SHO, Groups A officer of State and Central Government, or principal/headmaster of a government college or government school who attest that they personally know the sponsor.[80] This scheme does not apply to those who wish to visit Punjab, Kerala and Restricted Areas, nor does it apply to those who have ever been denied an Indian visa before.[80]