India Visa 2026: e-Visa Fees, Visa on Arrival and Regular Visas

India issues most short-stay visas online. Nationals of more than 170 countries and territories apply for an e-Visa at indianvisaonline.gov.in, receive an Electronic Travel Authorisation by email, and have it stamped into their passport on arrival at a designated airport, seaport or land checkpost. A smaller group of nationalities, including China, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Iraq, must use the regular visa route through an Indian mission or visa application centre.

Key points about India visas: - The e-Tourist visa comes in three validities: 30 days, one year and five years. The one-year and five-year versions allow multiple entries with a maximum of 180 days in India per calendar year - The official fee schedule dated 9 July 2026 sets the 30-day e-Tourist visa at US$25 (US$10 for arrivals in April to June) and the one-year visa at US$40 for most nationalities; the five-year visa is US$200 for most, US$160 for US passports and US$484 for UK passports. A 3% bank charge is added - Apply at least four days before arrival and up to 120 days ahead. No e-Visa can be extended or converted inside India - Japanese, South Korean and eligible UAE nationals can instead get a 60-day double-entry visa on arrival for INR 2,000 at six airports - Every foreign passport holder must also submit a free e-Arrival Card within 72 hours before landing. It replaced the paper disembarkation card on 1 October 2025 and is not a visa - Citizens of Nepal and Bhutan need neither a passport nor a visa when arriving from their own countries, and Maldivian citizens are visa-free for up to 90 days

Who can use the e-Visa: The eligibility list is the country-wise fee schedule on the portal. It includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, every EU member state, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Russia, among others. Some nationalities pay nothing: the e-Tourist visa is gratis at every validity for Indonesia, Argentina, Myanmar, Mauritius, Fiji, Jamaica, Uruguay, Seychelles and several Pacific states, and the 30-day version is free for the Philippines, Malaysia and South Africa.

Who cannot: Chinese nationals lost access to the e-Tourist visa and apply at Indian missions, with only a narrow e-Business route tied to the PLI, SPECS and EMC 2.0 manufacturing schemes. Nigerian nationals have no e-Visa facility at all and pay a flat US$585 plus US$3 for any visa, lodged in person in Abuja or Lagos. Bangladeshi nationals apply through the Indian Visa Application Centres in Bangladesh. India suspended visa services for Pakistani nationals on 24 April 2025, and anyone whose parents or grandparents were born in or were permanent residents of Pakistan is excluded from the e-Visa and visa on arrival regardless of current nationality. Holders of diplomatic and official passports also use the regular route.

Regular visas: Tourist, business, employment, student, medical, conference, research, journalist and entry (X) visas are applied for on the same government portal, printed, signed and lodged with the passport at an Indian Visa Application Centre or mission by appointment. Fees are set per mission in local currency and, unlike the e-Visa, vary widely by nationality. Validity runs from the date of issue, not the date of travel.

People of Indian origin: Former Indian citizens, their descendants to the third generation and the spouses of Indian citizens can register as an Overseas Citizen of India for a one-time fee of US$275. The OCI card gives a lifelong multiple-entry visa for any purpose and exemption from FRRO registration. People with Pakistani or Bangladeshi ancestry are not eligible.

Apply only on the official site: The portal states that e-Visa services are completely online, that no intermediary or travel agent is needed, and that the government makes no provision for any emergency or express fee. Third-party sites charge several times the official fee to key your answers into the same form, and copycat sites now also charge for the free e-Arrival Card.