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A plain-language guide to the India tourist e-Visa: who needs one, what to prepare, how to apply on the official site and how to avoid look-alike websites. Rules change, so confirm every detail on the official portal.
Reviewed by Mirza Shadab Beg, Founder, Travelage India, Agra · Last updated 28 October 2026 · 12 min read
most visitors need a visa for India, and many apply online for a tourist e-Visa on the official Government of India portal before travelling. Prepare a passport with enough validity, a digital photograph and a passport scan. Rules, validity and processing times change, so confirm them on the official portal. We are a tour operator, not a visa agency.
Almost every foreign visitor to India needs a visa before arrival. A small number of nationalities have special arrangements, and the rules for them are set by the Indian government, so the safest habit is to check your own passport against the current official list rather than rely on a friend’s experience. Travel rules change between seasons, and what applied to a neighbour last year may not apply to you this year.
For a holiday, the route most travellers use is the electronic tourist visa, usually called the e-Visa. You apply online, you pay online, and you receive an approval by email that you carry with you. It replaces the older habit of posting a passport to an embassy for a stamp. Some nationalities are not eligible for the e-Visa, and those travellers apply through an Indian embassy, high commission or consulate instead. The official Government of India e-Visa portal lists eligible countries and explains each step.
This page is a plain-language orientation for people planning an India holiday. Travelage is a tour operator based in Agra, not a visa agency, so we cannot apply on your behalf or promise an outcome. What we can do is explain the process, tell you what questions to ask before you apply, and help you build an itinerary that fits the dates on your visa.
The tourist e-Visa is an electronic travel authorisation for visitors whose purpose is sightseeing, recreation, a short course of yoga or a visit to friends and relatives. It is not a work permit and it is not meant for paid employment, long-term study or journalism. Those purposes need different categories, and applying under the wrong one can lead to refusal or trouble at the airport.
Once approved, the e-Visa is linked to your passport number. You do not receive a sticker in advance. Instead, you print the approval or keep a clear digital copy, and the immigration officer at your port of entry checks it against your passport and records your arrival.
Because the scheme is run by the government and adjusted from time to time, details such as the available durations, the number of entries allowed, the list of eligible nationalities and the approved airports can change. Treat any article, including this one, as a starting point and confirm the current position on the portal itself.
In recent years the portal has offered tourist e-Visas of different lengths, with shorter and longer options, and has changed the conditions attached to them more than once. The table below does not state current figures. It shows the questions that matter when you choose, so you read the official page with the right priorities.
| Question to ask | Why it matters for a holiday | Where to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| How long can I stay on each visit? | A Golden Triangle trip may need under a fortnight, while a Rajasthan, Kerala and Himalaya journey can need several weeks | Official e-Visa portal |
| Is it a single entry or multiple entry? | If you plan to fly out to Nepal, Sri Lanka or the Maldives and return, you need to know whether re-entry is allowed | Official e-Visa portal |
| What is the validity of the visa itself? | Validity starts from approval or arrival depending on the rules in force, which changes how early you can apply | Official e-Visa portal |
| Can I extend if I fall in love with the place? | Extensions are not a given, so plan the length you want from the start | Official e-Visa portal or an Indian mission |
| Does my nationality have any extra conditions? | Some applicants are asked for additional documents or are sent to a different route | Official e-Visa portal |
If you are unsure between two options, think about the longest trip you could realistically take in the next few years rather than only the next one. If a single visit is all you expect, the simplest option is usually enough. If you are likely to return, check whether a longer visa makes sense on the portal.
Gathering everything first turns the online form from an hour of frustration into a calm twenty minutes. Have these ready on one device:
Some applicants are asked to upload a business card or an invitation letter. For an ordinary holiday this should not apply, but if the portal asks for supporting papers, supply what it requests rather than guessing.
The sequence below follows the way the official portal has worked in recent years. Screens and wording can change, so treat it as a map rather than a script.
The official address is official Government of India e-Visa portal. Copy it from a trusted source, or search by name, and check that the page belongs to the Government of India before entering any personal details.
Apply as soon as your dates are fixed and your tickets are booked, rather than in the last week. Processing times vary with demand, with the time of year and with whether the officer needs more information. Official guidance on how early you may apply, and on how long approval normally takes, is published on the portal and can be revised. We do not quote a number of days here because any figure we gave could be out of date by the time you read it.
A sensible rule is to keep a comfortable margin on both sides. Leave enough time for a delay, and do not apply so early that the approval would expire before you travel, if the validity rules count from the date of approval. Reading the current rules once, calmly, will tell you where that line sits.
| If this is your situation | What we suggest |
|---|---|
| Dates fixed, flights booked | Apply once your passport is checked and the portal rules are confirmed |
| Dates still flexible | Settle the month first, because validity rules can limit how early you can apply |
| Passport close to expiry | Renew the passport before applying for the visa |
| Travelling as a family | Each person, including children, needs their own application and passport |
| A second trip within the same year | Check whether your existing approval already covers it before applying again |
Unofficial websites are the most common problem travellers meet. Some are legitimate agencies that add a service charge for filling in the form on your behalf, which is not illegal but is unnecessary. Others imitate the government site so closely that people enter their passport details and payment card without realising. A few simple habits protect you:
If you have already used a look-alike site, do not panic. Check your bank statement, contact the card issuer if a charge looks wrong and confirm on the official portal whether your application exists.
At the airport you join the immigration line for visitors on an e-Visa. The officer checks your passport against the approval, takes a photograph and fingerprints, and stamps your arrival. Keep your approval, your passport and your return or onward ticket in a flat folder so you are not searching a bag with a queue behind you.
After immigration, you collect your luggage and pass through customs. If you are travelling with us, your driver or host waits in the arrivals hall with a name board, and the transfer to your hotel is already arranged. Jet-lagged arrivals in the early hours are common on long-haul routes, so we plan the first day lightly and confirm your driver’s phone number the day before you fly.
Do not lose the paper or digital copy during the trip. Your hotels will ask for your passport and visa details at check-in, and a copy on your phone is a useful back-up, though the original passport is what officials expect to see.
E-Visa holders have to enter through approved airports and seaports, and the approved list has been extended over time. Most international visitors arrive through Delhi or Mumbai, with Kochi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and several other airports also commonly used. Check the current list on the portal before you choose, and make sure the port you select on the form is the port you actually fly into.
| Trip you have in mind | Common arrival choice | Planning point |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Triangle and Rajasthan | Delhi | Fly home from Delhi, or from Jaipur or Udaipur if the airline allows |
| Kerala and the south | Kochi or Thiruvananthapuram | Check these are on the approved list for your nationality |
| Mumbai, Goa and Ajanta and Ellora | Mumbai | Ajanta and Ellora is reached through Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) |
| India plus Nepal or Sri Lanka | Delhi or a southern gateway | Check whether your visa allows you to return to India afterwards |
If your route is not a simple out-and-back, tell us when you contact us and we will line up the first and last night with the airports you plan to use. See our Golden Triangle tours and 14 Days Private India tour for examples of routes that begin and end in the capital.
Most visa trouble comes from small errors, not from refusals. These are the ones we hear about most often from visitors:
A visa gets you through the airport. What happens after that is where a local team earns its place. On a private journey you have one driver for the whole route, a licensed local guide in each city and a host in Agra who answers your calls at any hour. That combination removes the small anxieties that tend to peak in the first two days: where to meet the driver, whether your hotel has your booking and what to do about the one monument that is closed that day.
If you want an itinerary letter or a day-by-day outline to attach to your plans, tell us when you ask for a proposal. The first stop for most visitors is the capital, so our Golden Triangle tours are a good place to see how a first journey can be paced. For a longer journey with several regions, look at the 14 Days Private India tour.
For destination information and official updates on travel, Incredible India and the National Portal of India are both reliable places to start.
Most foreign nationals do. Many are eligible to apply online for an e-Visa, and others apply through an Indian embassy or consulate. Check your nationality on the official portal.
On the official Government of India e-Visa portal, which you should type into the browser yourself. Look-alike sites charge extra and do not make approval more likely.
As soon as your dates and flights are fixed. Processing times and how early you can apply are set by the government and change, so read the current guidance on the portal and keep a margin.
It has long been required to have at least six months of validity from your arrival date and blank pages. Confirm the current rule on the portal and renew early if you are close to the limit.
No. We are a tour operator, not a visa agency. We can send an itinerary letter or day-by-day outline on request to support your plans.
Yes. Every traveller, including infants, needs their own passport and their own application.
The portal explains the next steps. If you have a refusal, read the reason carefully, do not apply repeatedly without understanding it, and consider applying through an Indian mission. We cannot overrule or speed up a decision.
Extensions are not guaranteed and are handled by the authorities. Plan the length of your trip from the start, and ask the official sources before you book a longer itinerary.
A list of approved airports and seaports is published on the portal. Delhi and Mumbai are the most common, and others are added over time. Check the current list for your nationality.
Carry one. Officials usually accept a digital copy, but a printed copy is a safe back-up if your phone fails or the connection is poor.
Related journeys: India Itinerary for First-Timers, Best Time to Visit India, Plan Your Trip.
Mirza Shadab Beg began as a local tour guide in Agra and founded Travelage in 2003. He has worked as a local handling agent for BTI Sita, HRG Sita, Kuoni Travel Business, Century Travel and Gilpin Travel. Travelage is rated 4.9 on Tripadvisor from 466 reviews, is registered with the Ministry of Tourism NIDHI database (ID EUP000616), and has been recognised by Les Clefs d’Or India. Facts such as timings and rules are checked before each update, and may change.
Once your dates are fixed, tell us and we will send a private proposal with an itinerary letter if you need one.