Visitors to India must obtain a visa from one of the Indian diplomatic missions unless they are citizens from one of the visa-exempt countries. Citizens of certain countries may obtain a visa on arrival or an e-Visa.
Visa policy map
Freedom of movement
Nationals of the following countries do not need visas or passports to enter India, and may live and work in India without any limit of stay. However, they must not arrive from, or transit through, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, or Pakistan prior to seeking entry into India.
Overseas citizens of India and persons of Indian origin Foreign nationals possessing either a valid Overseas Citizen of India card or a Persons of Indian Origin Card are exempt from visa requirements and may live and work in India without any limit of stay.
In addition, according to Timatic, foreign nationals possessing an expired Persons of Indian Origin Card that expired after 9 January 2015 may also enter India without a visa. This policy does not apply to nationals of Bangladesh and Pakistan, as they are not entitled to hold an Overseas Citizenship of India.
Visa exemption Ordinary passports Since March 1979, nationals of the Maldives do not need a visa to enter India for a maximum stay of 90 days.
Non-ordinary passports
Under reciprocal agreements, holders of diplomatic or various types of passports (consular, official, service and special) of the following countries and territories may enter and remain in India without a visa for the following period:
Indefinite period D O D OD O S D OD O S D O
90 days D O S D O D O S D O D D O D D O S D O Sp D O D O S D O S D O D D O S D O S D O D O D O S D O S D D O S D D O S D O D O D O S Sp D O D O S D D O S D D O D D D O D O S D D O SD D O D O D O S D O D O D O D O S D D D O D D O S D D O D D O S D O D O D O D D O D O S D O D O D O D O D D O D O D O D O D O D D O S D D D O S Sp D OD O D O C D O D O S D D D O Sp D D O S D O D O S D O D O D O Sp D O S D O D O D O D O D O D D D D D O S D O D O D O Sp D O Sp D D O D O Sp D O D O S D O D D
60 days D O D O SpD O D
45 days D O
30 days D D O S D O D O DD O D O S D O D O S D OD O D O S D O D D O
14 days D O
C - Consular passports D - Diplomatic passports O - Official passports S - Service passports Sp - Special passports
Visa on arrival
Nationals of the following countries holding ordinary passports may apply for a visa on arrival (VOA) at certain airports:
Airports Bengaluru Chennai Delhi Hyderabad Kolkata Mumbai
The visa on arrival is issued to visitors for business, tourism, medical or conference purposes, for a stay of up to 60 days, at a cost of ₹2,000.
Visitors are not eligible for this facility if they or any of their parents or grandparents were born in or have permanently resided in Pakistan, in which case they may only apply for a visa at an Indian diplomatic post.
The VOA facility can be used up to 2 times in a calendar year.
Alternatively, foreign nationals eligible for a VOA can apply for an e-Visa instead if they intend to enter the country through an entry point not covered by the VOA scheme.
Electronic visa (e-Visa)
Nationals of the following countries holding ordinary passports may apply for an electronic visa (e-Visa) online:
All ASEAN member states All European Union member states
E-Visas are issued for several categories, validity periods and fees, which also vary for some nationalities:
Category Validity Maximum stay Fee (USD) Tourist 30 days 30 days, from April to June 10 30 days, from July to March 25 1 year 180 days per year 40 5 years 180 days per year 200 Tourist (mountaineering) 6 months Business 1 year 180 days per stay 120 Business (conference) 30 days 30 days Business (film) 1 year Medical or attendant 1 year 1 year 80 Student or family 1 year Transit 30 days 30 days Miscellaneous (PIO or spouse) 3 months 3 months Production investment 6 months
Applications for e-Visas must be made between 4 and 120 days before arrival. All categories of e-Visas allow multiple entries.
Applicants are not eligible for e-Visas if they or any of their parents or grandparents were born in or have permanently resided in Pakistan, in which case they may only apply for a visa at an Indian diplomatic post.
E-Visas may only be used for arrival at the following entry points:
Airports Seaports LandportsAhmedabad Amritsar Bagdogra Bengaluru Bhopal Bhubaneswar Chandigarh Chennai Coimbatore Delhi Gaya Goa–Dabolim Goa–Mopa Guwahati Hyderabad Indore Jaipur KannurKochi Kolkata Kozhikode Lucknow Madurai Mangaluru Mumbai–Navi Mumbai–Shivaji Nagpur Port Blair Pune Surat Thiruvananthapuram Tiruchirappalli Tirupati Varanasi Vijayawada VisakhapatnamAgatti Alang Bhavnagar Chennai Chennai–Kamarajar Chennai–Kattupalli Cuddalore Dahej Dhamra Goa Haldia Jamnagar–Bedi Jamnagar–Sikka Kakinada Kandla–Deendayal Kandla–Tuna Tekra Karaikal Kochi Kochi–VallarpadamKolkata Kollam Kozhikode Mandvi Mangaluru Mumbai Mumbai–Nhava Sheva Mundra Nagapattinam Nellore–Krishnapatnam Paradeep Porbandar Port Blair Rajula–Pipavav Surat–Hazira Thiruvananthapuram–Vizhinjam Thiruvananthapuram–International Thoothukudi VisakhapatnamAgartala Attari Darranga Dawki Gede Ghojadanga Haridaspur–Petrapole Jaigaon Jogbani Moreh Raxaul Rupaidiha
Exit is possible via any authorized immigration check post. In case of e-Visas that allow multiple entries, there are reports that after the first entry at one of the allowed entry points, entry is possible at another time at any regular border entry point with that same e-Visa.
In a separate module, nationals of Afghanistan may apply for six categories of electronic visas: business (including dependents), student, medical, attendant, entry (sponsored cultural events, children of medical visa holders, stepchildren of Indians, owners of property in India, dependents of international officials, parents of student visa holders, seamen, people of Indian origin and their spouses, religious minorities) and United Nations diplomat visas.
Date of e-Visa eligibility27 November 2014: Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Djibouti, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Zealand (including Cook Islands and Niue), Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vanuatu, VietnamETA enabled Visa on Arrival Scheme, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 15 December 2014. January 2015: GuyanaTVoAs in February 2015 show an increase of 1162% over the TVoAs of February 2014, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 13 March 2015. 14 April 2015: Sri LankaPrime Minister's media statement during visit to Sri Lanka, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 13 March 2015. 1 May 2015: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, France, Georgia, Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Montenegro, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Vatican City, and British Overseas Territories citizens of Anguilla, Cayman Islands and MontserratExtension of e-Tourist Visa scheme to 31 more countries, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 29 April 2015. 30 July 2015: China (including Hong Kong and Macau)Extension of e-Tourist Visa scheme to China, Hong Kong and Macau from tomorrow, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 29 July 2015. 15 August 2015: Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Belgium, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, East Timor, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Mongolia, Mozambique, Netherlands (including Aruba), Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Taiwan, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, and British Overseas Territories citizens of Turks and Caicos Islands 26 February 2016: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Comoros, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Iceland, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Moldova, Namibia, Romania, San Marino, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Zambia, ZimbabweExtension of e-Tourist Visa scheme to 37 more countries from tomorrow, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 25 February 2016. 1 April 2017: Angola, Azerbaijan, Burundi, Cameroon, Cyprus, Italy, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, UzbekistanIndian e-Visa, Government of India. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. July 2017: UgandaPress release, High Commission of India in Kampala, 11 July 2017.Now, e-visa facility for Uganda, The Hindu, 14 July 2017. February–June 2018: IranIndia-Iran Joint Statement during Visit of the President of Iran to India, Ministry of External Affairs of India, 17 February 2018.Indian e-Visa, Government of India. Archived from the original on 3 June 2018. February 2018: Kazakhstane-Visa, Embassy of India in Nur-Sultan. 26 April 2018: KyrgyzstanE-visa facility now available for Kyrgyz nationals for travel to India, AKIpress, 26 April 2018. 23 August 2018: QatarIndia adds Qatar to list of countries eligible for e-visa, Gulf Times, 23 August 2018. 17 June 2019: Saudi ArabiaVisa Services, Embassy of India in Riyadh. October 2019: Belarus, Benine-Visa, Government of India. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. February 2020: Equatorial Guineae-Visa, Government of India. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. August 2020: Togoe-Visa, Government of India. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. April 2021: removed Canada, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, United Kingdom (except British Overseas Territories citizens), Uzbekistane-Visa, Government of India. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. August 2021: Afghanistan, only for emergency e-Visae-Visa, Government of India. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. December 2022: resumed Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, United Kingdom, Uzbekistane-Visa, Government of India. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. 20 December 2022: resumed CanadaRestoration of e-Visa services for Canadian Passport holders, High Commission of India in Ottawa, 20 December 2022. 9 March 2023: resumed Saudi ArabiaIndia restores e-Visa services for Saudi nationals with immediate effect; here's how to apply, Mint, 11 March 2023. 21 September 2023: suspended Canada 22 November 2023: resumed Canada 19 December 2023: British citizens of Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey, and British Overseas Territories citizens of Gibraltar January 2024: Moroccoe-Visa, Government of India. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. June 2024: Bangladesh, only for medical and attendant e-Visase-Visa, Government of India. Archived from the original on 26 June 2024. 1 August 2024: resumed China (including Hong Kong and Macau), only for business e-VisaIndia: Chinese Nationals Eligible for E-Business Visas, Fragomen, 1 August 2024. June–December 2024: removed Bangladesh 16 February 2025: resumed QatarStarting of Indian e-Visa facilities for Qatar nationals, Embassy of India in Doha, 16 February 2025. 29 April 2025: replaced emergency e-Visa with six categories of electronic visas for nationals of Afghanistan July 2025: Mauritania 9 July 2025: Bahrain 13 July 2025: Kuwait December 2025: replaced business e-Visa with production investment for nationals of China (including Hong Kong and Macau) May–June 2026: suspended Uganda September 2026: resumed Uganda
History 2013