How to Apply for Indian Tourist Visa Online [Step by step]

Visitors/Tourists staying in India for less than 3 days can get a Transit visa but for more than that, a Tourist visa is highly required. The tenure of the Indian tourist visa depends upon the person’s nationality.

Citizens of Japan, Canada, and the USA get tourist visas with the validity of 10 years. 5-year tourist visas are becoming available for travelers from most countries increasingly, where the facilities of biometric enrolment are available. Otherwise, Visitor visas are usually issued for 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year. These are normally multiple entry visas.

Note – Keep in mind that a visa is valid from its issue date and not the date of entry in India.

Also, no matter how long your visa is valid, you aren’t allowed to remain there for more than 180 days (six months) at a time. Moreover, some traveler visas only permit staying for 3 months. Also keep in mind that although 2-months break earlier applied between the visits to India on Visitor visas, it has been removed (for the residents of most countries).

Other types of visas that are provided for the citizens from other countries to India: Employment visas, Business visas, Research visas, Intern visas, Student visas, Film visas, and Journalist visas.

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What is the actual cost of Does Indian Tourist Visa?

The fees for tourist visas vary as per countries as well as according to the arrangement between respective governments. The current charge for US nationals is USD 160 for up to ten years. It is followed by an additional processing fee of $19.90. Additional incidental costs like Biometric Enrolment fee is also included, although these aren’t notable in amount. While comparing to the new discounted cost of obtaining an e-Tourist visa – USD 80 for 5 years; there is no real monetary benefit of getting a regular physical visa.

Some countries like Mongolia and Japan have special arrangements with India. It allows their nationals to pay fewer fees for a visa. Residents of Argentina, Mauritius, Micronesia, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Indonesia, Niue Island, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Myanmar, South Africa, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Cook Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Jamaica, Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu don’t have to pay fees for Tourist visa.

How to Apply for Indian Tourist Visa?

If you aren’t applying for an online Visa, it is now likely to apply for a regular paper visa. The government of India has introduced a centralized and channelized online application procedure on how you can fill and submit the form, then submit your passport manually and supporting the certificates in person to the applicable Indian embassy and consulate in your country.

Along with your fees and its application, for an Indian Visitor visa, you will require a passport which is valid for 6 months and has 2 blank pages at least, a recent color passport-sized photo (dimension 2-inch x 2 inches), along with the details of your itinerary plan. Copies of the flight tickets, as well as proof of residential address, is also be needed. Your application form of visa needs to have enough space for Indian conciliators, but the section usually is not necessary to be completed for Tourist visas. 

How much time is required to obtain a valid Indian Tourist Visa?

The processing time for an Indian Tourist visa for The US citizens born there is normally 5-10 working days.

Permissions for Restricted/ Protected Areas in India 

Even if you’ve got a valid Tourist visa, some remote areas in India require foreign visitors to obtain a PAP (Protected Area Permit) to enter there. These regions are usually near the borders or have other security issues associated with them.

Some of these types of areas in India include Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh as well as some parts of northern Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Rajasthan.

A visitor can apply for Protected Area Permit at the same time as he applies for his Tourist visa. Alternatively, it is also possible to get before going to such a protected area.