▶ Destinations ▶ India
Apply your visa online
You are in the right place if you are looking for a guide to know how to apply the e-Tourist visa for traveling to India. The first time to make is not so simple for a few points but having completed it several times, I’m able to help you. You can also do it throught a visa agency but they ask a lot of fees.
You should know that the slightest error provided during the visa procedure in the form will result in a refusal without refund but you will not be affected if you follow this tutorial correctly. The Indian government website prevents any possible machine translation and copying of words. Follow this guide to know how to do and the things to know.
India Tourist Visa Info
You will also find in this guide some information about formalities, entry requirements and things related to the Indian visa.
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Prices of tourist visas
| 30 days (July to March) | 30 days (April to June) | One year | 5 years |
| $25 (USD) | $10 (USD) | $40 (USD) | $80 (USD) |
4 duration options are available for the tourist Indian visa. Be aware that if you leave the country on a 30-day visa, you will need to reapply online. 1 and 5 year visas allow you to enter and leave the country as many times as desired.
Maximum length of stay
Travel must not exceed 3 months. If you want to stay longer, you can enter a neighbouring country then return back to India (you can even do it in a single day) to benefit again from a 3-month residence permit. If you are in the North, the easiest way is to go to the Nepalese border, entering, and then return (visa on arrival is available there, which is not the case for Bangladesh and Pakistan) or going to Sri Lanka if you travel in the South.
Where to apply for a visa online?
You only need to go to the government website to apply for a visa online. There are a multitude of fraudulent sites that should be avoided. Many people fall into the trap.
The one and only place to apply it:
🔎 https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/
Once on the site, go to the bottom of the page and click on Apply here for e-visa. Once you have completed the first page, your application number will be assigned to you by email. You can continue the visa procedure later by clicking on the third box by entering the same number.
Fill out the online form
Page 1
Visa application
| Nationality/Region | Your nationality |
| Passport type | The type of your passport Select “ordinary” if you have no connection or activity with government services. |
| Port of arrival | Select the airport or seaport through which you intend to enter the territory. Be aware that arriving by a port other than the one you have chosen does not matter if you change your mind. However, it must be included on this list. Once your visa is validated by customs, you will be able to re-enter through any other port (only for multiple-entry visas). |
| Date of Birth | Your date of birth |
| Email ID | Your e-mail address You will receive your application number and your e-visa on it. |
| Re-enter Email ID | Re-enter your email address |
| Visa service | Select “e-Tourist visa” and the desired duration: 30 days, 1 year or 5 years. |
| Then select the reason | |
| – Recreation and sight seeing | Visit and leisure |
| – Meeting friends/relatives | Visiting relatives or friends |
| – Short term courses on (…) | Short courses without structure and without obtaining a qualification or diploma. Must not exceed 6 months. |
| – Voluntary work of short duration | Volunteering of less than one less financially unpaid or any other kind due to the volunteer at the end of the mission. |
| Expected date of arrival | Set the date you plan to arrive in India. |
| Please enter above text | Copy the CAPTCHA in upper and lower case. |
Check the box to confirm that you have the required documents in PDF format and passport photos in JPEG or JPG and click continue.
NOTE : do not wait too long between two pages because they expire quite quickly and need to be started again.
Page 2
Application details
| Surname | Your family name |
| Given name | Your first name(s). They must be written exactly as on your passport. |
| Have you ever changed name? | Click on the box if you have already changed your name/surname and fill in the details. |
| Gender | Your gender |
| City of birth | Your city of birth |
| Country of birth | Your country of birth |
| Citizenship /National ID | Your national identification number The one on your identity card if you have one. Otherwise, enter “NA”. |
| Religion | Indicate your religion. In case you are an atheist, select OTHERS and then enter ATHEIST. |
| Visible identification marks | Indicate if you wear visible elements that show your religious affiliation. (jewelry, tattoo, veil, clothing, …). Register NONE if you are not affected. |
| Educational qualification | Fill in your qualifications at the end of your studies |
| – Below matriculation | You stopped before the 10th year of study |
| – Graduate | Graduate |
| – Higher secondary | Higher secondary |
| – Illiterate | You are illiterate |
| – Matriculation | You have completed your 10th year of study |
| – Post graduate | You have obtained a master’s or doctoral degree |
| – Professional | You have completed vocational training |
| Nationality | Your nationality |
| Nationality by birth or naturalization | Indicate whether you acquired your nationality by birth or naturalization. |
| Have you lived at least two years were you are applying visa? | Have you lived for at least 2 years in the country where you are currently applying for the visa? |
Page 3
Passport details
| Passport number | Your passport number |
| Place of issue | Place of issue (city) |
| Date of issue | Date of issue |
| Date of expiry | Expiration date |
| Any others valid passport (…) | Fill in the information of your other active passports or identification documents if you have any. Otherwise, check the “NO” box. |
Address of the applicant
Current address
| House No./Street | Your street and home number |
| Village/Town/City | Your village or city |
| State/Province/District | State, region or district |
| Postal/Zip code | Your postal code |
Permanent address
Check the box if your permanent address is the same as your current address.
Family details
Father details
| Name | Name |
| Nationality | Nationality |
| Previous nationality | Previous nationality |
| Place of birth | City of birth |
| Country of birth | Country of birth |
Mother’s details
| Name | Name |
| Nationality | Nationality |
| Previous nationality | Previous nationality |
| Place of birth | City of birth |
| Country of birth | Country of birth |
Enter “NONE” in the boxes if you do not know your biological parent(s) or enter your adoptive parent(s) details if applicable.
| Applicant’s marital status | Marital status of the applicant |
| -Single | Alone |
| – Married | Married |
| – Divorced | Divorced |
| Were your parents/grandparents Pakistan nationals or belong to Pakistan held area ? | Were your parents or grandparents Pakistani nationals or did they belong to the Pakistani-held region? Check yes or no. If yes, fill in the details. |
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Profession
| Present occupation | Current situation or occupation (See second table) |
| Employer name/business | Name of employer or company |
| Address | Your employer’s address |
| Past occupation if any | Old job if there is one, specify. |
| Are/were you in a Military/Semi-Military/Police/Security organization? | Were or are you a military, semi-military, police, or other security-related job? |
| If yes :- Organization – Designation – Rank – Place of posting | Organization Designation Rank Occupied Place |
Present occupation
| Air Force | Air Force / Aviation |
| Business person | Businessman or woman |
| Cameraman | Cameraman |
| Charity/social worker | Social worker |
| Chartered accountant | Chartered Accountant |
| College/university teacher | College or university teacher |
| Diplomat | Diplomat |
| Doctor | Doctor, Doctor |
| Engineer | Engineer |
| Film producer | Film producer |
| Government service | Government Services |
| House wife | Housewife |
| Journalist | Journalist |
| Ploughing | Employee |
| Lawyer | Lawyer |
| Media | Media |
| Military | Military |
| Missionary | Missionary |
| Navy | Marine |
| News broadcaster | News broadcaster |
| Official | Official |
| Others | Other |
| Police | Police |
| Press | Press |
| Private service | Private services |
| Publisher | Editor |
| Postpone | Postpone |
| Researcher | Researcher |
| Retired | Withdrawn |
| Sea man | Work at sea |
| Self employed/ freelancer | Freelancer |
| Student | Student |
| Trader | Merchant |
| Tv producer | TV Producer |
| Un-employed | Unemployed |
| Unofficial | Unofficial |
| Worker | Worker |
| Writer | Writer |
Page 4
Details of the visa requested
| Places to be visited | Fill in the cities you want to visit. Just write the main cities or states/regions. |
| Places to be visited line 2 | Use this line if you run out of room in the first line of places you want to visit |
| Have you booked any room in Hotel/Resort etc. throught a tour operator? | Have you booked a hotel room or other through a tour operator? |
| Expected port of exit from India | What port of exit do you plan to leave India? It will not matter if you choose to leave the territory through another port if you change your mind. |
Details of current visa or previous visa
| Have you ever visited India before? | Have you visited India before? If not, check the “NO” box and proceed to the next step. |
| Address | Enter the address where you stayed the longest (that of a hotel, a friend or any host) |
| Cities previously visited in India | Cities visited in India on your last trip to India. Write them with spaces. |
| Last Indian visa/Currently visa Indian visa No | The number of your last or valid visa |
| Type of visa | The type of visa |
| Place of issue | The place where it was issued to you |
| Date of Issue | The date it was issued |
| Has permission to visit or to extend stay in India previously been refused? | Have you ever been denied permission to visit or extend your visa to India? |
| If so, when and by whom (Mention Control No. and date Also) | If so, when and by whom? Also mention the application number of the visa in question and the date. |
More information
| Countries visited in last 10 years | Select all the countries you have visited in the last 10 years. Be aware that if customs notice that a country is in your passport and you have not mentioned it, your visa may be cancelled when you go through Indian customs. |
Details of SAARC country visits
| Have you visited SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries (except your own country) during last 3 years? | Have you travelled in the last 3 years to: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka? If yes, fill in the information. |
Reference
What is the reference in the e-visa?
Your referees are those you designate in case of problem or person to contact. You have to choose one in India and one in your country.
| Reference name in India | Reference name in India Fill in which person or organization should be contacted if there is a problem. This can be a hotel, an Indian friend, your local guide, etc. |
| Address | Address of your referee |
| State | The state in which he lives |
| District | District (region) |
| Phone | His phone number |
| Reference name in (your country) | Reference name in your country This can be a friend, relative, relative, etc. |
| Address | Address |
| Phone | His phone number |
Page 5
Provide details below
● Have you ever been arrested/prosecuted/ convicted by Court of Law of any country?
Yes or no
● Have you ever been refused entry / deported by any country including India?
Yes or no
● Have you ever been engaged in Human trafficking/ Drug trafficking/ Child abuse/ Crime against women/ Economic offense / Financial fraud?
Yes or no
● Have you ever been engaged in Cyber crime/ Terrorist activities/ Sabotage/ Espionage/ Genocide/ Political killing/ other act of violence?
Yes or no
● Have you ever by any means or medium, expressed views that justify or glorify terrorist violence or that may encourage others to terrorist acts or other serious criminal acts?
Yes or no
● Have you sought asylum (political or otherwise) in any country?
Yes or no
I (your name), hereby declare that the information furnished above is correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. in case the information is found false at any stage, I am liable for legal action/deportation/blacklisting or any other action as deemed fit by the Government of India.
Yes or no
Upload documents for the visa
Downloading documents in the right format and the right file size can be quite a pain if you don’t know the tools to compress files. Here we will see how to reduce the weight of photos and PDF online in case yours are too heavy.
1️⃣ Photo
At first, the easiest method is to scan a passport photo. It must be recent. Your visa application may be refused if necessary.
Weight and format
Your photo must weigh a minimum of 10 KB and a maximum of 1 MB. Its dimensions must be 350×350 pixels. You should not use the same photo as your passport.
Important : your photo must be as clear and sharp as possible at the risk of having your visa rejected. The photo should be cropped as much as possible above your torso. Your shoulders should be apparent.
If you don’t have access to a photo booth
You can do it at home if you can afford it (I did it 3 times):
● Take a picture of yourself with a camera or mobile phone against a light and neutral background (preferably in a shade of white or any other very light color). Make sure to avoid shadows – use the flash if necessary but avoid overexposure – your face should be uncovered, without piercings, glasses or other jewelry (see the example in my photo below).
● With the help of various editing software, you will be able to remove parasites if there are any on your background. For my part, I have cleanly erased many impurities.
How do I reduce the weight and change the dimensions of a photo?
Dimensions and format
1. At first, download the software PhotoFiltre.
2. Install it.
3. Drag your photo into the interface and crop it by holding down the left click while dragging the mouse. Then, give it a perfectly square shape from the bottom of the right column by clicking on the “=” sign and adjust your frame again from the interface. [See photo]
4. Resize your image to the requested measurements by left-clicking on your image (always from the interface). Select “Image size…” ” then change the width and height to 350 and click “OK”.
5. Save the photo in the right format: go to “File” > Save As: make sure here that the format is set to JPEG and then save.
6. First compression (do not touch it if your image is already optimized): drag the slider to 70 or even 65 if your photo is very heavy. This tool will reduce its weight (follow the rest to complete the compression).
Compression
1. To compress and reduce the weight of your photo, you can use an online tool (see link below). It will automatically compress during upload and then you will only have to download it. Repeat the maneuver if necessary but make sure that the quality is not degraded.
2. Your image is ready to be uploaded to the government website.
2️⃣ Passport
The size of your passport scanned in PDF format must be:
● Maximum of 10 KB
● Maximum of 300 KB
You can also take a picture of your passport but be aware that this requires great care since all the details must appear. I strongly advise you to scan your passport for this step.
How to reduce the size of a PDF file for India visa?
Here is the best online tool to reduce and compress the weight to the standards of your India e-visa. From the site, you will be able to choose the compression ratio until it suits you.
What if my PDF file is still too large?
1. Take a screenshot of your passport > Save the > Switch the new image to a photofilter > Set its width to 800 and height to approximately 1100 ≈ (see the tutorial in the previous section) > Go to File Then save as by selecting the PNG format (it is one of the lightest).
2. Go to the attached link below and convert your new PNG image to PDF.
🔎 Convert your image to PDF here
3. Compress your PDF again with the online tool.
4. Your passport is ready to be uploaded. Don’t forget to click Upload Document after you choose your file. Finally, check the box at the bottom of the page and confirm.
3️⃣ Confirm your details
Payment and obtaining the visa
Regulation
You have the option to pay for your e-visa for India by credit card or PayPal. Choose the “Axis Bank” option for credit card settlements.
Warning: the system can be long and suggest that your payment has not been taken into account. Many people paid double without repayment possibilities.
Obtaining the visa
You will receive your e-visa in your mailbox. You will know if it has been accepted if you see “GRANTED”. This document must be printed, it is the one you will have to present to Indian customs upon arrival.
The delays are about a week or a few days, but it can be as fast as a few hours as it has already been the case for me.
Other issues
For further questions, please read F.A.Q. At the end of the article or leave a comment, I answer it quite quickly.
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