How and Who Can Obtain Indian Visa Online?
Foreigners are mandated to travel to India with a holding of a valid Indian visa along with a passport as evidence of their nationality. However, until the last decade, the procedure to obtain an India visa had been daunting and lengthy. In order to achieve a large foreign traveler base in India, the government has been making several amendments in Indian visa policy with also an intention to drive more cash inflow to improve the economy. The government of India has come up with e-visa portal to ease the procedure along with the continuation of a regular visa. A possession of e-visa lets the foreign nationals enter Indian territory and stay till the validity of visa remains. E-visa is only a short term solution for foreign travelers planning to stay in India for a short duration of time.
Indian visa service is offered for tourism purpose, medical purpose, and short business trips. Unlike the regular Indian visa, applying for an Indian e-visa is not much intimidating. No physical visit at Indian embassy is required to apply for e-visa because the procedure is conducted electronically from the scratch till the arrival of visa. It ought to be noted that applicants should apply for the e-visa from four days to 120 days prior to the date of arrival. Although it is suggested to apply for e-visa as early as possible so that in case of rejection, the applicant would have enough time to apply for the regular visa. The necessary documents are a photograph with a white background and photo page of passport disclosing all personal details. It is requisite to upload the necessary documents and the foregoing passport must hold the validity of at least six months from the date of application.
After the submission of online application, an application id is sent to the applicant. Within three to five days, an ETA is sent to the applicant which is an electronic travel authorization which shows whether e-visa is granted or not. For the online visa service, the government of India charges a certain amount of fee from the applicants. This e-visa is valid for 60 days of stay in Indian territory with permittable double visits on tourist and business e-visa and triple visits on a medical e-visa in a single year.
Foreign visitors are allowed to enter India on an e-visa if he or she holds a printed copy of the e-visa, passport with minimum two blank pages for stamping by the immigration officer, and a return ticket stating the sure date of departure. Children and infants of foreign nationalities should have the possession of separate e-visa. It must be kept in mind that any international traveler with a Pakistani passport or Pakistani origin is not eligible for e-visa and advised to apply for the regular Indian visa. E-visa service is not available to any diplomatic or official passport holder or laissez-passer travel document holder.
Indian government accedes to apply for Indian visa online three times in a calendar year. Applicants must not stand confused at variant e-visa charges because the government of India decides it on the basis of the bilateral agreement between India and foreign nationalities.
