Entry requirements everywhere have grown more procedural over the last few years — pre-authorisations, biometrics, airline-side verification before you reach a border at all. India is, by comparison, unusually straightforward: for the great majority of our guests the whole thing is an online form and a photograph.
But it has rules that are precise rather than flexible, and the problems we see almost never come from the difficult parts. They come from four or five small ones, each of which is entirely avoidable if you know it exists.
The six-month passport rule, and when it applies
Your passport must hold at least six months' validity at the time you make the application. Read that again, because the trap is in the timing: it is measured at application, not at travel, and travellers who apply on a passport with seven months left frequently assume they are comfortable when the rule has already been satisfied or already failed.
You also need two blank pages. This sounds trivial and is the reason a small number of people are turned back every year.
If your passport is close to either limit, renew before applying rather than after. A new passport means a new e-Visa application in any case — the authorisation is tied to the passport it was issued against, and does not transfer.
Timing the application
The application window opens 120 days before arrival, and the stated minimum is four days in advance. Four days is a legal floor, not a plan. We would not want a guest inside two weeks, and for anything with a fixed, unmovable date — a wedding, a festival, a train departure — we would want it done a month out.
The form itself takes ten to fifteen minutes. The delay, when there is one, is on the approval side and is not something you can chase. Building slack is the only mitigation available.
The fee is country-specific, non-refundable, and carries an additional bank charge of 3% on card payments or 4% through PayPal. A refused or abandoned application costs the fee regardless.
Where the e-Visa actually lets you in
This is the rule that most surprises people. The e-Visa is valid for entry only at designated points: 36 airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Goa, Amritsar and Varanasi among them — and 38 seaports.
For a normal journey this is invisible, because you will arrive at one of them. It matters if you are planning something unusual: an overland arrival, a private aircraft into a smaller field, or a cruise calling somewhere off the list. In those cases the e-Visa is the wrong instrument and a regular visa from the mission is the right one.
Check the designated list against your actual arrival point rather than assuming, particularly if any part of the journey involves a charter.
The 180-day rule, for anyone travelling more than once
The one-year and five-year e-Tourist Visas are multiple-entry, which is the point of them — but total time in India must not exceed 180 days in a calendar year. That is cumulative across visits, and it resets on 1 January rather than on a rolling basis.
For almost everyone this is academic. It becomes real for guests who split a long winter between India and somewhere else, or who are combining India with Nepal or Bhutan and crossing back and forth. If a journey involves several re-entries, the arithmetic is worth doing at the planning stage rather than at an immigration desk.
The things that actually go wrong
In our experience the list is short and repetitive. A name entered on the form that does not match the passport exactly, including middle names and hyphens. A photograph that fails the specification, which is stricter than people expect. A passport renewed after the visa was granted, invalidating it. An arrival point that is not on the designated list. And applications left until the week of travel.
None of these are difficult. All of them are easier to prevent than to fix from an airport, which is why we ask guests for passport details early and check them ourselves rather than assuming it has been handled.
One thing worth saying plainly: nothing on this page is immigration advice, and rules change. The Government of India's own e-Visa portal is the authority, and it is the only source we would act on for a specific case.
Fragen, beantwortet
How long does an Indian e-Visa take to come through?
Applications can be lodged from 120 days before arrival, with a stated minimum of four days in advance. The form takes ten to fifteen minutes. Four days is the legal minimum rather than a sensible margin — we would want any guest to have applied at least two weeks ahead, and a month for travel built around a fixed date.
How much passport validity do I need for India?
At least six months at the time you make the application, plus two blank pages. The six months is measured at application rather than at travel, which is the detail that catches people out. If you renew your passport after the e-Visa is granted, you must reapply — the authorisation is tied to the passport it was issued against.
Can I enter India anywhere with an e-Visa?
No. The e-Visa is valid only at designated entry points — 36 airports and 38 seaports. That covers every arrival on a normal itinerary, but not an overland crossing, a private aircraft into a smaller field, or a cruise calling at a port outside the list. Those need a regular visa issued by an Indian mission.
Should I get the one-year or five-year Indian tourist visa?
For a single journey, the 30-day option is usually sufficient and cheapest. The one-year version earns its cost if you are returning within the year or combining India with Nepal, Sri Lanka or Bhutan with re-entries. The five-year version tends to make sense on a second trip rather than a first. Both cap total time in India at 180 days per calendar year.
Which nationalities can use the India e-Visa?
The scheme covers 174 countries and territories, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and most of Europe. Travellers outside that list, and those requiring entry at a non-designated point, apply for a regular visa through an Indian mission.
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