E-Tourist Visa India Processing Time, Cost, Restrictions, Procedure

Tourist e-Visa is the short form for an electronic tourist visa. In order to visit India, an individual requires a valid passport and visa which is basically the permission of Indian government for visiting India..

The term Visa has been derived from the Latin word Charta visa which literally means “a document which has been seen”. Visa is a document which is issued by any country (ideally a stamp marked on the passport of the individual) certifying or permitting the individual to enter and stay in the country for the specified period of time depending on the type of visa.

What is Indian E-Tourist Visa?

Tourist e-Visa is the short form for an electronic tourist visa. In order to visit India, an individual requires a valid passport and visa which is basically the permission of Indian government for visiting India. e-Visas are also provided for people visiting India on business and medical purposes.

Indian visa can be essentially obtained by the following two methods:

• Traditional method: In case of traditional visa, the visa is stamped inside the passport of the individual traveler. In order to obtain the traditional visa, an individual needs to submit their original passport along with other application materials. Such traditional visas take longer time for issuance while requiring a lot of paperwork. However, such visas have a longer validity and also allow multiple entries.
• Electronic method: In case of electronic visa, the individual does not require submitting his/her passport or any other personal document to the consulate since everything is done electronically. The electronic visa actually gets the prior approval issued before departing to India while the actual visa will be placed inside the passport of the individual at the immigration checkpoint. Such visa allows double entry into India and permits a maximum stay of 60 days. Such visa expires after 120 days from the date of issue. The visa cannot be extended or modified. Tourist e-Visa allows arrival at the 25 airports and 5 seaports across India.

How To Apply for E-Tourist Visa to India?

Any individual can apply for a tourist e-Visa directly on the official website of Indian visa issuing authority. Apart from this, some airports in India (approximately nine such airports) also allow visa on arrival for individuals who are resident of certain countries with which the government of India has specific pacts.

E-Tourist Visa Indian Processing Time

The Indian Consulate, Mission or Post would take a minimum of three days time to process an application of Tourist e-Visa. Such a visa is usually issued depending on the nationality of the individual applicant and reason for his/her visit in India.

Indian Visa Cost

Tourist e-Visa costs around USD 0 to USD 102.50 (applicable for countries like USA) depending on the nationality of the applicant. A service fee of USD 35 or a bank fee of 2.5 percent of the visa fee has to be paid additionally for the processing of such visa.

Restriction of Indian E-Visa

Some of the restrictions which the individual visitor to India on an e-Visa needs to follow include:

• Indian e-Visas need to be applied for before the actual travel. Without a valid visa, the individual would not be allowed to travel.
• An individual cannot apply for an e-Visa at the airport. It has to be done much in advance.
• The individual visitor should arrive in India before the actual tenure of e-Visa expires.
• Such Indian e-Visa cannot be extended or modified/converted for any other purpose.
• Such Indian e-Visa is absolutely not valid for travel to restricted areas within the country.

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