New online Indian Visa on Arrival application procedures

As per the new visa rules just declared by the Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India)the facility of Indian Tourist Visa on Arrival has been extended to 180 countries starting from October 2014. Eight countries that have not been included in the list are Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

Previously only nationals from only 11 countries could get Indian Tourist Visa on arrival at the main International airports of India. The granting of the facility of Visa on Arrival in India to almost all the countries of the world, will surely increase the number of tourists to India. To quote India's Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla "It is a major move and we hope it will boost tourism in a big way. We hope to implement this from the next tourist session beginning in October, 2014"

According to the new procedure to apply for Indian Visas, The Bureau of Immigration in India has set up a website https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/. All applicants for Indian Visas must visit this site and apply online. Make sure that the last extension of the website is .gov.in which confirms that it is the original Government website. There are many frauds with the similar names, but with other extensions like .com, .org, .info, etc. Do not be fooled by those India Visa fraud sites.

Make sure that you are on https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/ with the extension .gov.in, which conclusively proves that it is the India Government Visa site. Once the application is submitted you will receive an email with bar-code visa travel authorisation within 3 working days. You can now travel to India and at the visa counter at the Indian Airport present the visa travel authorisation print out and you will be given a tourist visa valid for 30 days stay

Types of Indian Visas issued online

The following types of Indian visas are eligible for online applications: Business Visa, Conference Visa, Diplomatic Visa, Employment Visa, Emergency Visa, Entry Visa, Journalist Visa, Medical Visa, Missionaries Visa, Permit to re-enter within 2 months, Research Visa, Student Visa, Tourist Visa, Transit Visa.

Type of Photo required to uploaded when appying for Indian Visa on-line

A digital photo of the following type is required to be uploaded for online India Visa Application:


sample of the photo required to apply for Indian visa online
Sample photo for online application of Indian Visa

Visa fees for online application of Indian Visa on arrival

This is what the official India Government Visa website says about the visa fees for online application of Indian Visa on arrival at Indian Airports:

"The visa fee depends upon the type of visa applied for and duration of visa. Visa fee is divided into various types depending upon the case viz; Basic fee, special fee, processing fee by out-sourcing agency. During the online registration process, at the end of the process the basic fee shall be displayed. However, this fee shall be indicative only and final fee shall be charged while submitting the application at the respective counters
Fee once received are non refundable even if the visa application is withdrawn, the visa is not granted, or if visa issued is of shorter duration of period than applied for or otherwise issued or returned at a time or on terms and conditions that may vary from those sought by the applicant.
For further information on this, please check with local embassy office or Indian Visa Application center office or websites for information on applicable fee and payment methods.

Easy to travel in India, English is spoken widely in India

India was a colony of England for nearly 200 years till India became independent in 1947. One of the great benefits gained by India due to the English colonial rule was that the English language was made the medium of education at all levels. This is one of the reasons for India’s success in Information Technology, Medicine and many other fields. English is the language of communication between the Indian States, each of whom have their own local language. The common use of English in India is of great advantage to the tourists and other visitors to India, since they have no problem in communicating with the people.

The other great gift of the English Colonial rule to India was one of the largest railway networks in the world, connecting every corner of India. The British built the Rail networks to control India by being able to move its soldiers quickly from the barracks to any trouble spots and to exploit the wealth of India, but now it is a great blessing for Independent India. You can see and enjoy the diversity of India by traveling around on trains in this vast country. The fares are so cheap that you will hardly notice it. In fact, there is a special pass which foreigners can get, which allows them unlimited travel on any train, any time, within the validity of the pass. More on this in our dedicated page India by Train

The roads are also pretty good and commuting by Buses is also possible at very cheap rates. During the last decade Air travel across India has grown multifold and it is affordable, especially when the rates are converted to Dollars, Euros or Pounds.

India is well connected with the world by Internet and Phone services. At the moment in India, well over a million new mobile connections are being taken every month, the largest anywhere in the world, by far. Local Mobile Phone SIM cards or chips can be purchased at Indian Airports, Railway Stations or in many of the shops around the country. Phone call charges are among the cheapest in the world. Internet cafes can be seen every where in India. Fast broadband Internet connections are quite common all over India and plenty of 'hotspots' are there for Wireless Internet connection for your laptop. Mobile phones and Blackberries work well. For those who want internet all the time and anywhere, Internet USB stick connections for your laptop are available from the Mobile Phone Operators, at reasonable prices. So staying in touch with your loved ones back home, or for business, is easy and cheap.

Tourists to India have many choices. They can choose to go to the big Cities like Delhi, Mumbai or Bombay, Kolkata or Calcutta, Chennai or Madras and Bangalore or Bengaluru. They can also choose to go to Goa, if they want great beaches with all night parties. Or they can choose to go to Kerala, for a relaxing time in Kerala, described by National Geographic Magazine as “one of the ten Paradises on Earth”. All of these places have their own pages, so please visit them for more details.

Other pages in our website www.IndiaEnjoy.com

Below are links to all the pages on this website and we hope you will make full use of all the great information about India. So please 'Enjoy India' through our website IndiaEnjoy.com