The numbers
Government fees from the official Indian visa portal. Americans pay a reciprocal rate on the five year option.
Double entry. The cheapest option and enough for most single holidays.
Multiple entry across the year.
Multiple entry. Americans pay a reciprocal rate here, higher than most nationalities.
Minimum before travel. Fees are not refunded if the application is refused.
Which length to buy
The 30 day option is not a worse version of the others. For most trips it is the right one.
One holiday, two or three weeks
30 days, $25It allows double entry, so a side trip to Nepal or Sri Lanka and back is covered. Paying for a year would be spending $55 more for time you will not use.
Two or more trips within a year
1 year, $80Cheaper than buying two 30 day visas once you count a third visit, and it removes the four day lead time before each trip.
Family or business ties, regular travel
5 years, $160Works out cheapest per trip if you go more than about twice a year. Note this is a reciprocal rate, so Americans pay more than most nationalities for the same document.
Which site is the real one
India is the worst offender on this site for lookalike domains. Search india evisa and several of the results use the words india, visa and online in an order designed to look official.
indianvisaonline.gov.inOfficialindia-e-visa.it.comNot the governmente-visa-india.infoNot the governmentapplyevisaindia.comNot the governmentThe genuine portal ends in .gov.in exactly. That suffix is restricted to Indian government bodies, so it cannot be bought by a private company. Any address ending in .com, .info or .org is a business, whatever the name suggests.
Why this matters more than the money. A reseller does not just charge more. It also retypes your passport details into the government form on your behalf, and if a character is wrong you carry the consequences at the airport, not them.
Photo and document rules
India is stricter about the photograph than most countries, and it is the usual cause of a rejection.
- The photograph
-
A square image, plain light background, face centred and fully visible with the head covering the majority of the frame. No shadows, no glasses, no borders.
The square aspect is the part people miss. A standard passport photo is rectangular, so cropping one to fit often cuts off the top of the head and is rejected.
- The passport page
-
A scan of the bio page in PDF form for most applicants. Your passport needs at least six months of validity from arrival and two blank pages.
- The reference in India
-
The form asks for a contact in India. If you have no personal contact, your first hotel is an accepted answer. Give its name, address and telephone number.
You also give a reference in your home country. A family member or friend is fine, and neither person takes on any responsibility for you.
How to apply
Allow a week even though the minimum is four days. Approval usually arrives faster, but there is no way to hurry it.
- Go to indianvisaonline.gov.in. Check the address ends in .gov.in before entering anything.
- Choose e-Tourist Visa and the duration you want, 30 days, one year or five years.
- Complete the form using your name exactly as printed in your passport.
- Upload the square photograph and the passport bio page.
- Give your reference in India, which may be your hotel, and a reference at home.
- Pay by card. The fee is not refunded if the application is refused.
- Print the approved visa and carry it. India expects a paper copy at immigration.
What goes wrong
Three of these are specific to India and catch people who have travelled widely elsewhere.
- A rectangular photograph. India wants a square image. Cropping a normal passport photo usually clips the head and fails.
- Arriving without a printout. Unlike most e-visas, India expects a printed copy at immigration. A phone screen is not a reliable substitute.
- Using a reseller by accident. Several rank above the government site for some searches. You will pay two or three times the fee for the same document.
- Landing at an airport not on the list. The e-visa is only valid at designated airports and seaports. Most major arrivals are covered, but overland entry is not.