It has come to notice that off late many third party websites have cropped up offering e-visa to foreign nationals masquerading as a genuine & official website of the Government of India and had duped money from some unsuspecting foreign / Russian nationals planning to travel to India on e-visa. The list of some of these websites is as follows:
https://www.evisatoindia.org.in
https://www.evisaindia.com
https://www.indianvisaservice.org
https://www.indiaimmigration.org
https://www.evisaindia.org.in
https://www.indiaonlinevisas.org.in
https://www.indiavisa.org
In this regard, Embassy of India, Moscow cautions foreign / Russian national planning to visit India to be watchful & careful while accessing of such websites and official site for e-visa, which is given below may be used for submission of e-visa applications to India.
www.indianvisaonline.gov.in
(1) The nomenclature of the existing ‘e-Tourist Visa’ has been changed to ‘e-Visa’ with three sub-categories i.e. ‘e-Tourist Visa’, ‘e-Business Visa’ and ‘e-Medical Visa’ which will be available to the nationals of 161 countries/territories (list available on the website of the e-Visa).
(2) Following activities will be permitted under e-Tourist Visa, e-Business Visa and e-Medical Visa:-
(a) e-Tourist Visa : Recreation, sightseeing, casual visit to meet friends or relatives, and attending a short term yoga programme.
(b) e-Business Visa : Casual business visits.
(c) e-Medical Visa : Medical treatment, including treatment under Indian systems of medicine.
Note : A foreign national will also be permitted to club these activities provided he/she had clearly indicated the same in the application form along with requisite documents.
(3) The international traveler should hold a passport with a minimum validity of 6 months from the date of arrival in India and a re-entry permit, if that is required under the law of the country of nationality of the applicant. The passport should have at least 2 blank pages for stamping by the immigration officer.
4.As approved by Competent authorities of India, foreigners traveling to India on e-visa on a passport different from the passport mentioned on Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) issued to them will be allowed entry into India on the new passport even if ETA has been issued on the old passport, provided foreign nationals carry the old passport on which ETA was issued.
5. Competent authority in India has decided to include Bhubaneswar and Port Blair Airports in the list of entry points were persons holding e-Visa will be allowed to enter India.
Procedure for applying for e-Visa
In order to avail of the facility of e-Visa, the foreign national concerned shall mandatorily fill in the application online on the e-Visa website https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html
The applications are cleared in 72-hours and an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) slip will be sent to the email ID provided by the applicant. The visitor is expected to travel to India with this authorization and a passport with a minimum remaining validity of 6 months. In view of the 72-hrs taken for clearance, visitors are expected to apply for e-Visa at least 4 days before the date of their journey to India. However, the applicants may apply online in advance within a window of 120 days from the date of arrival in India.
Entry Points
The e-Visa will be provided only at the 24 designated international airports (Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Tiruchirappalli, Trivandrum and Varanasi) and 3 designated seaports, i.e., Cochin, Goa, Mangalore. However, the foreigner can take exit from any of the authorized immigration check point in India.
Validity
An e-Visa will be valid for entry and stay in India within the period of its validity, subject to the conditions specified. The immigration officer may grant a double-entry e-Tourist Visa or e-Business Visa upto a period of 60 days to the passport holders of the countries covered by the e-Visa scheme. Triple entry e-Medical Visa may be granted which can be extended by another 6 months on a case-to-case basis on its merit by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO)/ Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) concerned.
Conditions for e-Visa
e-Visa can neither be extended nor converted to any other kind of visa during the visa holder’s stay in India except under exceptional circumstances like medical reasons, marriage, PIOs who are otherwise eligible for normal Indian visa etc.
Fee for e-Visa
e-Visa fee is country/territory specific and is non-refundable once the visa fee is submitted. A fee of US $ 75 or equivalent amount in Indian Rupees per passenger (including children) will be charged from Russian nationals as e-Visa fee besides a bank transaction charge of 2.5%. The remaining nationals of other countries/territory may check the e-Visa website for the fees to be paid by them.
Repeat visits
e-Visa can be availed for a maximum of 2 times in a calendar year, i.e., January to December.
Miscellaneous Information
i. The e-Visa facility shall not be available to the holders of Diplomatic/Official passport holders or laissez passer travel document holders or international travel document holders or individuals endorsed on parents/spouses’ passports;
ii. International travelers having Pakistani passport or Pakistani origin may apply for regular visa at the Indian Mission;
iii. Restriction of one application per email ID per month has been removed;
For any assistance call e-Visa Support Centre at +91-11-24300666 which will be available 24X7 or one can send an email at indiatvoa@gov.in
1. The instructions on eligibility, requirements, filling-up of the e-Visa forms, etc. are mentioned in detail on BOI/MHA’s webpage www.indianvisaonline.gov.in. The webpage also guides the applicants on filling up the application form and provides sub-links ( https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html ) with information related to “Instructions to Applicants” and “List of Countries/Nationalities who are eligible to avail e-Visa”.
2. An important instruction on the above link is the requirement for entry into India upon receipt of Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) is that the passport of the traveler should have validity of at least six months from date of arrival in India and should contain at least two blank pages for stamping by the Immigration Officer.
3. Another important instruction on e-visa webportal is with regard to the entry on passport number mentioned in ETA which is reproduced below:
“You must travel on the Passport which you have applied for e-Visa. Entry will be allowed into India on the new passport even if ETA has been issued on the old passport, however in such cases a traveler must carry the old passport on which ETA was issued.”
