Get a visa for India online is easier than we think. In this article I will help you process the online visa for India in English for Americans, British, Canadians, Australians, Irish, etc.
How to get the visa
Once you have your flights booked, the next and important step is apply for the electronic visa to India. The process is 100% online and easy to complete. You can opt for the official website, listed below, which is a bit complicated. Or, for a small management fee, opt for an authorized agency such as iVisa.com where you can make your request and receive customer service support while they take care of everything. I recommend this option for the speed and ease of completing the process.
Before our step by step guide of how to process the visa to India, here are some basic details that will help you in this simple process.
Basic concepts to get the E-Visa to India
– Application management is 100% online, both forms and payment. Communication is made via the email address you include in your visa application.
– The online visa to India lasts up to 365 days (1 year) from the date of issue.
– The electronic visa to India allows for multiple entries (from April 2019). With a maximum stay for each trip of 90 days.
– You cannot extend or convert the e-Visa beyond it’s validity, you would have to take out a new visa, but first you must leave the country.
– Entry into India can only be made through the 28 designated airports (Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Portblair, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Varanasi and Vishakhapatnamo) and 5 authorized ports (Cochin, Goa, Mangalore, Mumbai and Chennai).
– The E-visa for India is not valid to enter by land. To exit, you can do so through any point of exit from the country.
Requirements to process the Electronic Visa to India
– A passport with at least 6 months validity, counted from date of entry into India. In addition you must have at least 2 blank pages. If your passport is about to expire or you don’t have sufficient space, I recommend that you renew it to avoid problems. You will need to scan the passport information page as a PDF. The file must be a minimum of 10 KB and a maximum of 300 KB.
– A digital passport-sized photo. If you have one the correct size you can scan it and upload it to the website. The file must be a minimum of 10 KB and a maximum of 1 MB.
– You can process the visa online to India from between 120 and 4 days before the date of arrival in the country.
– Pay 41 USD (includes 2.5% for use of bank cards) + 35 USD for the management of the online visa. Some Latin American nations such as Argentina and Uruguay are exempt from the USD 41 rate.
– One round trip ticket and documents that support your trip. You should also have this information available when arriving in the country.
– Although they do not require travel insurance, I recommend you take it out when visiting India. You can compare and book your travel insurance here that includes a 5% discount. If you travel a lot throughout the year, you can also buy annual travel insurance that covers everyone. An annual policy is usually cheaper than single trip policies.
Travel more than 60 days to India
If you have plans to travel to India for more than 60 days, from April 2019 you can now manage your online visa for multiple entries online. As the online visa to India is now valid for 365 days (1 year) from the date of issue, for multiple entries and up to a stay of 90 days per trip.
Another option is to apply in person at the Embassy or High Commission of India in your country of residence. To process this type of visa, you always have to be outside of India. It is your responsibility to review the requirements at the Indian consulate closest to your residence.
Options to process the Visa to India online
– On the iVisa website. This is the easiest way I found and used for my three previous visits to to India. This company has a «zero frustration policy» and customer service available 24 hours a day, every day of the week. Make sure you fill out the form (available in English and other languages) and that’s it, they’ll be in charge of managing your electronic visa to India and once it is processed, they’ll send it to you by email.
– On the website of the Indian government. You complete the process on your own by following the instructions which are available in English. If something is wrong or you forget to attach a document, you will not have a second chance and you will have to pay for a new application according to the terms and conditions. I have researched in several forums and many travelers have problems and challenges with the government website. Therefore, to avoid issues I suggest using iVisa.
As you can see, at present there is only one government form to manage the e-Visa to India, and it is through the official website that the government has made available to travelers. In addition to this medium, there is the iVisa website that helps you to easily manage the visa in English.
How to manage the e-Visa to India through Ivisa
For my previous trips to Kerala, I found the iVisa website that I now recommend, helping other travelers who want a straightforward way of obtaining their visa.
How much does the online visa to India cost
The payment of the visa is the same as in the official website, you only have to add 35 USD for a standard service fee of maximum 5 days. There may be times where this is processed quicker than this, but this is the average time to receive your online visa to India.
There are also options for an express or urgent process of between 36 and 72 hours (3 days) with their respective rates. If you are not in a hurry, a five day service should be more than enough. So you only pay 117 USD (about 104 euros approx).
How long does the visa to India take online
Based on my experience, while I paid for the process of up to 5 days, I received the e-Visa in around 48 hours from when I requested it. Although each case could be different depending on your personal circumstances.
Steps to manage the e-Visa to India with iVisa
The first thing is to visit the iVisa website
– After putting your nationality and destination: India. You will see a page: Application for the Visa for India or eVisa for Tourism for India consisting of 3 steps.
Step 1: Basic information
Email, date of arrival and departure of India, port of arrival, contact telephone, country of origin. As well as the data of the applicant: name and surname; Nationality listed in your passport, date of birth, sex, passport number, date of issue and expiration date, place of issue of the passport. In the identification number box, put «not applicable».
Price of the visa and validity
You can also add more applicants if you want to process several visas at a time. Choose the processing time and the service fee. With Standard Processing typically more than sufficent, but if you require urgent processing, there are Express and Super Express options. Then, choose save and next.
Step 2: Review and payment
In this step, check that all your data from the previous step is correct and correct any errors. After making the payment (with a bank card or paypal) you will receive an email and you will see that you exit as Status Incomplete or Incomplete State, there is nothing unusual, you only have to complete the application now in Step 3.
Step 3: Continue the request
Here you will fill in some additional information. Then you can save and continue and it will take you to the page to upload the documents such including the photo of the applicant and the data sheet of the passport. After everything is in order a green button will be available to «Send Completed Request».
In the Status of your visa you will see that the request has been received. You will also receive an email from iVisa with the details of your application and how to see the status of your application. All communication and the e-Visa will be now sent by email. Remember that you can check the status of your visa at any time or contact the iVisa support team if you have any questions.
Print the e-Visa or electronic visa to India
After having approved the visa (GRANTED) you have to print at least one copy to present when entering India.
Useful resources for your trip to India
Now that there is more peace of mind with the electronic visa to India, it only remains to use the resources below so that your trip is the best possible:
Travel insurance
Always remember to travel the world with Travel Insurance. As a a reader of the blog, you have a 5% discount that you can apply here.
Tour and excursions around India
– Here you can see and book tours and excursions throughout India.
VPN for internet connections in India
To use the internet in countries with restrictions and also to use safely free public Wi-Fi whilst protecting your data, I recommend buying VPNExpress to navigate in India while taking care of your privacy.
