In a significant step to enhance the tourism potential of the country, the Indian government has started issuing the following:
- Visa on Arrival
- Electronic travel authorization (ETA)
Through ETA, the travelers can apply from their home country and they would get the confirmation of visa within five working days. The airports where these measures have been implemented are in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, Goa and Trivandrum. The ETA would be issued for 30 days while the visa on arrival would be limited for single-entry tourism prospect.
The countries which are eligible for tourist visa are:
Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, & Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Cayman Island, Chile, China, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Macau, Colombia, , Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue Island, Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Macedonia, Russia, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Turks and Caicos Island, Tuvalu, UAE, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
Steps to take:
- Applicants must visit the site Indian Visa Online, at least 5 days and not less than 30 days before they plan their travel to India.
- The passport needs to be valid for 6 months. The applicants need to upload their passport size image on the page and make their profile.
- The applicants need to pay the fee online with their credit card. They can check the status of their visa confirmation here.
- The ETA will be valid for 30 days after the date of being issued.
- A copy of the ETA should be with you while travelling to India and needs to be shown at the immigration counter.