A guide to applying for an E-Visa to India by travelers from the United Kingdom.
It can be applied online via Indian govt. website.
WHO CAN APPLY: Holders of passports endorsed ‘British citizen’ who meet the eligibility criteria can apply for a double entry e-Tourist Visa. British subject, British protected person, British overseas citizen, British national (overseas) and British overseas territories citizen passport holders aren’t eligible to apply for an E-visa.
TYPES OF E-visas: e-Visa has 3 sub-categories i.e., e-Tourist visa, e-Business Visa and e-Medical visa. A foreigner will be permitted to club these categories.
VALIDITY: The validity of e-Visa will be 60 days from the date of arrival in India. Double entry is permitted on e-Tourist Visa and e-Business Visa. Triple entry will be permitted on e-Medical Visa. When you arrive at the airport, your passport will be stamped and an expiry date for your e-visa will be handwritten by an Immigration Officer. Please be aware that 60 days is not automatically equal to 2 calendar months. Check the date that is written on your passport and make sure you leave the country before your visa expires.
NUMBER of E-Visas PER YEAR: e-Visa can be availed for maximum of two times in a calendar year i.e. between January to December.
WHEN TO APPLY: Applicants may apply online minimum 4 days in advance of the date of arrival with a window of 120 days. Example: If you are applying on 1st Sept then applicant can select arrival date from 5th Sept to 2nd Jan
DOCUMENTS: Photo page of Passport containing personal details like name, date of birth, nationality, expiry date etc are to be uploaded mandatorily by the applicant. The application is liable to be rejected if the uploaded documents and photograph are not clear / as per specification. Additionally one more document depending upon the e-Visa type would also be required to be uploaded. See below:
For e-Tourist Visa
- Scanned Bio Page of the passport showing the Photograph and Details
- For e-Medical Visa
- Scanned Bio Page of the passport showing the Photograph and Details
- Copy of Letter from the Hospital concerned in India on its letterhead
- For e-Business Visa
- Scanned Bio Page of the passport showing the Photograph and Details
- Copy of Business Card
For e-Business Visa visiting “To deliver lecture/s under Global Initiative for Academic Networks (GIAN)”
- Scanned Bio Page of the passport showing the Photograph and Details
- Invitation of the host institute to the foreign faculty
- Copy of the sanction order under GIAN issued by the National Coordinating Institute viz. IIT Kharagpur
- Copy of the synopsis of the courses to be taken up by the faculty
PHOTOGRAPH: Recent front facing photograph without spectacles white background . The application is liable to be rejected if the uploaded photograph is not clear / as per specification.
Photograph:
- Format – JPEG
- Size: Minimum 10 KB, Maximum 1 MB
Other document for Business/Medical Purpose
- Format -PDF
- Size : Minimum 10 KB ,Maximum 300 KB
FEE: The e-visa fee is charged in US Dollars. The fee from UK to India is $75.00. Bank transaction charges of 2.5% will be charged additionally on applicable e-Visa fees. The fee must be paid at least 4 days before the expected date of travel otherwise application will not be processed. e-Visa fee once submitted is non-refundable as the fee is for processing of the application and is not dependent on either Grant or Rejection of Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA).
YOUR E-visa: Applicant should carry a copy of Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) along with him/her at the time of travel. Please make sure that your ETA status is shown as ‘GRANTED’ on the e-visa website prior to commencement of your journey. Applicants can track the status of their application online by clicking VisaStatus
BIOMETRICS: Biometric details of the applicant will be mandatorily captured at Immigration on arrival in India.
PORT OF ENTRY: e-Visa is valid for entry through 25 designated Airports (i.e. Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh,Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Varanasi & Vishakhapatnam) and 3 designated seaports (i.e. Cochin, Goa, Mangalore). However, the foreigner can take exit from any of the authorized Immigration Check Posts (ICPs) in India.
APPLICANTS of PAKISTANI ORIGIN: All applicants of Pakistani origin who hold dual British-Pakistan nationality must apply for an Indian visa on their Pakistan passport. Those who have either renounced Pakistani nationality or cancelled their Pakistani passport would need to submit documentary proof of this.
Processing time for visa applications received from persons of Pakistani origin will be 7-8 weeks or more.
Processing time for applications from those holding dual British-Pakistan nationality will be substantially longer
Special Note:
- e-Visa is non-extendable, non-convertible & not valid for visiting Protected/Restricted and Cantonment Areas. If you intend to visit Protected/Restricted/Cantonment areas, you would require prior permission from the Civil Authority please visit here.
- Please be careful while making payment of the e-Visa fee. If the number of unsuccessful attempts is more than three (03), then the application id would be blocked and the applicant would be required to apply afresh by filling the application form again and regenerating a new application id.
- The e-Visa fee payment status updation may take up to 4 hours due to technical reasons/network delays. Before re-applying, the applicants are requested to wait for 4 hours for payment status updating, after final submission of the application form and payment of the fee. In cases, where e-Visa fee has been deducted but status is not updated, the applicants are advised to verify their payment status by clicking on ‘Verify Payment/Pay Visa Fee’ tab or by clicking on the link Verify Payment.
- Nationals of Yellow Fever affected countries or travellers arriving from these countries must carry YELLOW FEVER VACCINATION CARD at the time of arrival in India, otherwise they may be quarantined for 6 days upon arrival in India. Please visit our Ministry Of Health & Family Welfare latest guidelines regarding yellow fever countries
For any assistance call 24 * 7 e-Visa support center at +91-11-24300666 or send email to indiatvoa@gov.in
