A Comprehensive Guide to Applying for an Indian E Visa
India is a vast and beautiful country. Citizens from 169 countries around the world require to apply for a visa to visit the country for any purpose, be it, business opportunities, medical purposes, or tourism. The government of India provides an online India visa which can be applied prior to your travel or on arrival to the country. Obtaining Visa through the traditional process takes longer and requires a lot of paperwork but that visa has longer validity. E visa India is convenient to attain, extremely fast, reliable, and easy on the pocket too. While applying for the E Visa, one’s passport and personal documents are not required to be submitted at the consulate. Indian E Visa would get you permission to stay in the country for a limited period though, than the traditional visa.
The Indian Government started its E Visa services in the year 2014, and with the launch of the E Visa process, the Indian government expected to increase the business and medical tourists in the country for better growth. In the year 2017, the E Visa was further divided into 3 categories and those are:
· e-Tourist Visa
· e-Business Visa
· e-Medical Visa
Two more categories of e-Medical Attendant Visa and e-Conference were added to this later. However, up to two e-Medical Attendant, Visa will be granted against one e-Medical visa and e-Conference Visa can only be permitted to club the activities under Indian e-Tourist Visa which is valid only for 30 days after entering India.
Eligibility:
E Visa India online applicant must apply 4 days prior to or on the date of arrival for E tourist visa and E Business Visa, whereas, for an E Medical Visa the applicant has a window of 120 days.
Fees of the Online Indian Visa vary from one country to another and have to be submitted 4 days in advance from the date of departure or else the application shall not be processed further.
The applicant should present the passport through which the Indian E Visa was applied, on the arrival in the country. The applicant’s passport must be valid for at least 6 months with two blank pages that are to be stamped later at the airport.
Documents Required to Apply for Indian E Visa:
· A passport size photograph
· Copy of the photo and information page of the passport
· Filled online application form
· Further documents as requested
Process of Applying e-Visa:
The procedure to apply for an E Visa is pretty convenient and a time saver as well. The applicant just needs to:
· Fill the online application form in a correct manner
· Provide valid and authentic information
· Make sure you didn’t forget anything necessary to be filled
· Complete the payment procedure using a Master/ Visa card
Information required to be provided in the Form:
· Full Name as per documents
· Passport Number
· Nationality
· Destination Airport
· Type of Passport
· Date of Birth as per documents
· Valid e-mail id
· Recent mobile number
· Expected date of arrival
· Type of Visa required
· Captcha (Access Code)
Time Required to Obtain The Indian E Visa:
If you have enough time on hand to wait and obtain your E Visa from the Indian government, then you can go for the standard procedure. This procedure normally takes up to 4–7 days of your time to process your India E Visa application and is considered to be the best option as of now.
But, when it comes to emergency arrivals, you can opt for an urgent India Visa which requires a minor amount of additional fees. It takes up to 24–72 hours approximately to obtain your visa through urgent processing.
The validity of Indian e-Visa:
The Tourist Indian E Visa of one month is valid for 30 days with two permitted entries, whereas, the same Tourist visa for India of one year to five years is valid for 365 days with multiple entries. So, one must plan accordingly if planning a visit to India.
The Business E Visa for India has the longest validity till now. It is valid for a year from the date of Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) is granted, with multiple entries permitted during this period.
The Medical E Visa is valid for 60 days from the date of arrival to your destination port, with three permitted entries. The same process goes for the e-Medical Attendant Visa.
One must know that the e-Visas are non-extendable and non-convertible.
There is an important thing to remember that your online Tourist India Visa might be valid for one year or five years but this does not mean that you can stay or travel within India continuously for this long period of time. You cannot stay or travel in India for more than 90 continuous days. However, the citizens of the USA, UK, Japan, and Canada can stay up to 180 continuous days.
If you are carrying a Business E Visa India, then you can stay up to 180 days at a time whether you belong to any of the eligible countries.
Before Applying for Indian E Visa, one Must Ensure That:
· The passport size photo you upload should be clear and have a white background.
· The information you provide must be correct in all manners.
· The person should not be involved in any kind of fraudulent activity in their respective countries.
· You cannot enter any kind of Protected/ Restricted and Cantonment Area without permission from the assigned authorities.
Pre-Cautions:
- While you apply for an e-visa make sure you do it on the Government of India website.
- Collect as much information, as you can about applying for Indian E Visa online before sharing any of your information or paying any service fees.
- Don’t forget to go through your details one more time while applying, as even a small error can reject your visa application. To make your traveling to India hassle-free check each page’s information carefully.
- Don’t forget to take a print of your e-visa so that you don’t find any problem while arriving at the airports.
Another piece of advice would be, to enjoy being in India and make the most of your trip to the auspicious country but, altogether take care of your passport and visa. As soon as you reach India, mark your first visit to one of the 7 wonders in the world, the great Taj Mahal, and try to feel its invigorating vibes. Don’t forget to experience the authentic rural life of India amidst the Himalayan beauty and the extended deserts.
I hope, this information will surely turn out to be helpful for all those people applying for Indian E Visa whether online or offline.
