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Getting an Indian visa will be easier from 1st of April
The government has made many changes to the current visa regime in order to promote tourism and business in India.
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
The foreigners visiting India for tourism, business, or healthcare will be able to get an Indian e-visa easily. The government of India has further liberalized the entire process for the visa including the application process, type of entry and stay duration. If you are planning to visit India, the following list should help you understand the new changes that will be applicable from 1st of April:
Types of e-visa - Until now, visitors could get an e-visa for tourism purpose only. The government of India is extending the e-visa service for the other categories as well. The e-visa will be subdivided into these three categories - e-tourist visa, e-business visa, and e-medical visa.
Indian E Visa
Type of entry - The e-tourist and e-business visa holders can take advantage of double entry and e-medical visa holder will be entitled for triple entry.
List of countries - The government has made the e-visa facility available for the citizens of 161 countries and territories. You can obtain the complete list of countries by visiting the website - https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html
Entry to India - The visitors with an e-visa can enter India through 24 airports and 3 ports (Goa, Cochin, and Mangalore)
Privilege for e-medical visa holders - The major airports in India will have a dedicated immigration counter along with a facilitation desk to assist the e-medical visa holders.
E-visa for urgency - If the e-visa applicant has an urgent situation, the e-visa can be granted within 48 hours of application.
Application window for e-visa - The government has increased the application window from 30 days to 120 days.
Duration of stay - An e-visa holder can stay in India for 60 days compared to the earlier 30 days rule.
New categories of visa
Inter (I) visa - The government is also introducing a new category for visa provided for internships in Indian companies. The foreign applicants can get an intern (I) visa with a maximum validity of one year. The applicants can seek to pursue an internship in Indian firms, NGOs, institutions, etc. and can get a visa immediately after their graduation or post-graduation.
Film (F) visa - The government is also introducing another category of visa titled film (F) visa with multiple entry and one-year stay duration.
With initiatives to promote digitization and tourism, the government has made more changes to the visa scheme. The new visa scheme will offer an efficient application process and other changes that will promote tourism and business in India.
Types of Visa In India