India has expanded the number of e-Visa entry points to 88 designated immigration checkpoints, including two new airports and nine new land checkpoints for eligible foreign nationals. It has become easier for international travellers to avail of this online visa facility, which was launched in 2014 and is now open to citizens of 172 countries.
The e-Visa permits certain foreigners to make their application online and receive their ETA by email even before travelling. The recent additions to the list are the airports of Bhopal and Tirupati. The newly added land ports are Agartala, Darranga, Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon, Dawki, Moreh and Attari (Road). The number of airports in India is currently 37, 38 seaports and 13 land ports for e-Visa purposes.
These are categorised as follows: e-Tourist, e-Business, e-Medical, e-Medical Attendant, e-Student, e-Family, e-Transit and e-Miscellaneous Visas.
The eligible purposes for such visas include tourism, sightseeing, visiting family members and relatives, yoga courses for a period not exceeding one month, volunteering activities for a period not exceeding one month, medical purposes, accompanying an e-Medical Visa holder and business-related activities.
The e-Visa application process is done through the website. The applicant will have to fill out the form and provide a recent passport photograph taken against a white background.
Other documentation may be needed according to the type of visa. Inaccurate photography or documents that do not meet requirements will result in a rejected application.
Once the documents have been uploaded, candidates can pay the required fee through the Internet using their credit/debit cards or payment wallets. The fee is different for different nationalities and also differs based on the type of visa. There is a 3% transaction fee charged by the banks as well.
Once approved, the ETA is then forwarded to the registered email address. Travellers are supposed to print their ETA and travel with it while going to India. Once at an authorized immigration counter, the e-visa will be stamped in the passport. It has been made clear by the government that there is no express/emergency processing fee.
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