When you travel to India, you need to apply for a visa. In the past, you went to a consulate or embassy to apply for a visa. Since the introduction of e-visas for India, this is usually no longer necessary. Find out what an e-visa is, whether you can use one and how to apply.
What is an e-visa India?
The e-visa India is a digital document (PDF) and is also called ETA, which stands for Electronic Travel Authorization. The e-visa is the successor to the physical visa, which is affixed to the passport in the form of a sticker. It is still possible to apply for a physical visa for India. But because of the great advantages of the e-visa for India, it is more prudent for most travellers to choose for an e-visa.
What are the advantages of an e-visa?
- The fees for an e-visa are lower (€ 59,95 per person)
- The delivery time of an e-visa is shorting (from an average of 24 hours)
- The application procedure for an e-visa is easier (fully online)
How can I apply for an e-visa India?
The application procedure for the e-visa for India is as follows:
- 1 | Check if your trip meets the maximum duration of stay in India
- 2 | Check if you meet the requirements of the e-visa
- 3 | Fill in the online application form
- 4 | Pay the fees with Visa, MasterCard, American Express or PayPal
- 5 | Upload a digital passport photo and a scan or photo of your passport
- 6 | You receive the e-visa by e-mail as a PDF file
- 7 | Print the visa and keep it with your passport during your stay in India
How do I know which e-visa type I need?
The Indian immigration service has divided the e-visas into different variants. Firstly, there is the e-Tourist visa. This variant is suitable for a holiday to India, but also for visiting friends or relatives who live or stay in India. Then there is the e-Business visa. This variant is intended for visiting business relations in India, such as potential suppliers and customers, but also for visiting trade fairs and other meetings. India also offers the e-Conference visa, which is only suitable to take part in a conference, workshop or seminar. Finally, there is an e-Medical and an e-Medical attendant e-visa, for a medical trip to India, or to accompany a person travelling to India for a medical reason.
Are you going to India on holiday or on a business trip? Then you can use the application form on this website. You only need to follow the steps indicated in the form. You will then automatically receive the correct visa type. This will be an e-Tourist or e-Business e-visa, depending on the details filled in. If the filled in data shows that you cannot use these two visa types, you will see this immediately in the application form.
Why are there still physical visas for India?
There are several reasons to choose for a physical visa. For example, if you want to work for an Indian employer, or if you want to do voluntary work. Another reason could be that you want to stay longer in the country than is allowed with an e-visa India. Finally, there are persons who, due to their nationality, travel history or criminal past, cannot use the online application procedure of the electronic visas for India.
e-Visa.ie is a commercial and professional visa agency, and supports travellers in obtaining, among others, the India visa. e-Visa.ie is an official partner of the International Air Transport Association, IATA, with membership number 57231226, acts as an intermediary, is no law firm, nor does it employ lawyers, does not provide legal advice, and is in no way part of any government. You can also apply for a visa directly with the immigration service (25,63 USD per visa, via indianvisaonline.gov.in). However, not with our level of support. If you submit your application via e-Visa.ie, our support centre is available to you 24/7. In addition, we manually check your application and all the documents you provide before submitting it to the immigration authorities on your behalf. If we suspect any errors or omissions while doing so, we will personally contact you to ensure that your application can still be processed quickly and correctly. To use our services, you pay us 25,63 USD in consular fees, which we pay to the immigration service on your behalf, as well as € 35,37 in service fees as compensation for our services, including VAT. Our services have saved many travellers from major problems during their trip. Should an application be rejected despite our support and verification, we will refund the full purchase price (unless an application for a previous India visa was rejected for the same traveller). Read more about our services here.