VISA GUIDELINES

VISA guide - traveling to YMUN South asia

Guidelines for international delegations traveling to india

Possession of travel documents 

Every foreigner entering India must be in possession of a valid national passport or any other internationally recognised travel document establishing his/her nationality and identity and bearing - (a) his/ her photograph, and (b) a valid visa for India granted by an authorised Indian representative abroad (except for citizens of Nepal and Bhutan travelling to India). 

  1. A photograph is necessary irrespective of age i.e. even for minor children below 15 years of age, if their name is included in the passport of either of their parents.

  2. Minor children whose names are entered in their parent’s passport must obtain a valid Indian visa for travel to India. Note: Children above the age of 16 years must possess a separate valid national passport, to travel to India. Children who have arrived on their parent’s passport must obtain a separate passport when they attain the age of 16 years while in India.

For citizens of Nepal and Bhutan for travelling to India 

Required Identity Documents

  1. A citizen of Nepal or Bhutan entering India by land or air over the Nepal or the Bhutan border does not require a passport or visa for entry into India. However, he/she should be in possession of any of the following identity documents:

    1. Nepalese/ Bhutanese Passport; or 

    2. Nepalese/ Bhutanese Citizenship Certificate; or

    3. Voter Identification Card issued by the Election Commission of Nepal/ Bhutan; or 

    4. Limited validity photo-identity certificate issued by Nepalese Mission/ Royal Bhutanese Mission in India when deemed necessary. 

    5. For children between age group of 10-18 years, photo ID issued by the Principal of the School, if accompanied by parents having valid travel documents. No such document is required for children below the age group of 10 years. 

  2. A citizen of Nepal or Bhutan must be in possession of a Passport when entering India from a place other than Nepal/ Bhutan. 

  3. A citizen of Nepal or Bhutan must have a visa for India if he/she is entering India from China, Macau, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Maldives. 

  4. If a citizen of Nepal or Bhutan visits India on a valid Nepalese/ Bhutanese passport, he/ she may not be allowed to proceed to any third country from India, unless he/ she obtains a ‘No objection Certificate’ from the Embassy of Nepal/ Royal Bhutanese Mission in India.

For all other foreign nationals travelling to India

Visa Category

For foreign nationals of countries outside of Nepal or Bhutan, please apply for one of the following tourist visas:

  1. e-Tourist Visa (e-TV), if you are a national of a country listed in the following “e-Visa” section

  2. Tourist Visa for Individual Tourists (T-1)

Required Documents

In general, you should prepare the following documents for either your e-Visa or paper Visa application:

  1. Passport

    1. You must provide your actual signed passport (or a scanned copy of your passport for the e-Visa application), including one copy of the personal information page of your passport. Your passport must:

      1. Be valid for six months beyond the validity of your requested visa

      2. Contain at least two blank visa pages for the visa stamp (amendments and endorsement pages cannot be used to fulfill this requirement)

      3. Not be frayed, torn, separating, or altered in any other way

  2. Photograph

    1. The Indian Consulate requires a photograph that meets very strict requirements. All electronic photo submissions must be taken within the last three months against an all-white background. It must show a full frontal view of your head with your face centered in the middle and with the tops of your shoulders visible. You must also display a neutral (non-smiling) expression with eyes open, mouth closed, and ears visible. No background light or shadows are permitted. You may not wear eyeglasses.  No headwear except for religious purposes. Do not wear a white shirt.  Should you elect to submit actual photographs for a paper visa, then you must submit two physical photographs that meet all of the above criteria and:

      1. Be exactly 2 inches by 2 inches square

      2. Be printed on high-quality glossy photo paper

      3. Not be affixed to your application, with no evidence of adhesive tape or staples

    2. Additionally, one digital photograph must be uploaded when completing the online visa application form. Passport photo vendors commonly produce photographs that do not meet these requirements.

Visa Fees

Fees for the grant of a visa will be charged in local currency in accordance with the instructions issued by the Ministry of External Affairs from time to time. Except in cases where a visa is cancelled, the visa fee shall not be refunded. In cases where a visa has not been utilised within its validity period, the fee realised is not refundable. 

e-Tourist Visa

List of countries whose nationals are eligible for e-Visa

1. Andorra 2. Angola 3. Anguilla 4. Antigua & Barbuda 5. Albania 6. Austria 7. Argentina 8. Armenia 9. Aruba 10. Australia 11. Azerbaijan 12. Bahamas 13. Barbados 14. Belgium 15. Belize 16. Bolivia 17. Bosnia & Herzegovina 18. Botswana 19. Brazil 20. Brunei 21. Bulgaria 22. Burundi 23. Cambodia 24. Cameron Union Republic 25. Canada 26. Cape Verde 27. Cayman Island 28. Chile 29. China 30. China- SAR Hongkong 31. China- SAR Macau 32. Colombia 33. Comoros 34. Cook Islands 35. Costa Rica 36. Cote d'lvoire 37. Croatia 38. Cuba 39. Cyprus 40. Czech Republic 41. Denmark 42. Djibouti 43. Dominica 44. Dominican Republic 45. East Timor 46. Ecuador 47. El Salvador 48. Estonia 49. Eritrea 50. Fiji 51. Finland 52. France 53. Gabon 54. Gambia 55. Georgia 56. Germany 57. Ghana 58. Greece 59. Grenada 60. Guatemala 61. Guinea 62. Guyana 63. Haiti 64. Honduras 65. Hungary 66. Iceland 67. Indonesia 68. Ireland 69. Israel 70. Italy 71. Jamaica 72. Japan 73. Jordan 74. Kenya 75. Kiribati 76. Laos 77. Latvia 78. Lesotho 79. Liberia 80. Liechtenstein 81. Lithuania 82. Luxembourg 83. Macedonia 84. Madagascar 41 85. Malaysia 86. Malawi 87. Mali 88. Malta 89. Marshall Islands 90. Mauritius 91. Mexico 92. Micronesia 93. Moldova 94. Monaco 95. Mongolia 96. Montenegro 97. Montserrat 98. Mozambique 99. Myanmar 100. Namibia 101. Nauru 102. Netherlands 103. New Zealand 104. Nicaragua 105. Niger Republic 106. Niue Island 107. Norway 108. Oman 109. Palau 110. Palestine 111. Panama 112. Papua New Guinea 113. Paraguay 114. Peru 115. Philippines 116. Poland 117. Portugal 118. Republic of Korea 119. Romania 120. Russia 121. Rwanda 122. Saint Christopher and Nevis 123. Saint Lucia 124. Saint Vincent & the Grenadines 125. San Marino 126. Samoa 127. Senegal 128. Serbia 129. Seychelles 130. Sierra Leone 131. Singapore 132. Slovenia 133. Slovakia 42 134. Solomon Islands 135. South Africa 136. Spain 137. Sri Lanka 138. Suriname 139. Swaziland 140. Switzerland 141. Sweden 142. Taiwan 143. Tanzania 144. Tajikistan 145. Thailand 146. Tonga 147. Trinidad & Tobago 148. Turks & Caicos Island 149. Tuvalu 150. UAE 151. Ukraine 152. United Kingdom(UK) 153. United States of America (USA) 154. Uruguay 155. Uzbekistan 156. Vanuatu 157. Vatican City-Holy See 158. Venezuela 159. Vietnam 160 Zambia 161. Zimbabwe 162. Uganda 163 Kazakhstan

Application

The e-Visa involves a completely online application and does not require any intermediary/agent. Applicants are also advised to be careful of fraudulent websites offering e-visa services for India and only use the Government of India portal at https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html. To preview the application and required documents, please review the following document: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/images/SampleForm.pdf .

Applications must submit an application for the e-Visa no less than 4 days and no more than 120 days prior to entry into India. It is possible to track the progress of your e-visa online.You will receive your electronic travel authorization via your email address within 3-5 days. Once you receive travel authorization approval, you should print it and carry it along with your passport to the airport.

In case if you stuck somewhere or face any problem please contact e visa help desk i.e. +91 11 24300666 or indian-evisa@gov.in

Designated entry points

Persons holding e-Visa are allowed to enter into India only through the designated international airports namely, (1) Delhi (2) Mumbai (3) Chennai (4) Kolkata (5) Trivandrum (6) Bangalore (7) Hyderabad (8) Cochin (9) Goa (10) Ahmedabad (11) Amritsar (12) Gaya (13) Jaipur (14) Lucknow (15) Trichy (16) Varanasi (17) Calicut (18) Mangalore (19) Pune (20) Nagpur (21) Coimbatore (22) Bagdogra (23) Guwahati , (24) Chandigarh and (25) Visakhapatnam. Further, e-visa facility is also provided for entry at 5 major Indian seaports i.e. (1) Mumbai (2) Cochin (3) Mormugao (4) Chennai and (5) New Mangalore for cruise tourists. Persons holding e-Visa can depart from any of the authorized Immigration Check Posts in India.

Validity period

Maximum stay by a foreigner in India on an e-Tourist visa or regular paper Tourist visa or both in one calendar year shall be restricted to 180 days. Foreign nationals will not be allowed to enter India through land routes on e-Tourist Visa/regular paper Tourist Visa.

Tourist Visa for Individual Tourists (T-1) (paper)

For paper visas, you are required to make a personal appearance at your local consulate to obtain your visa. We recommend that you contact your local consulate directly to obtain the most current forms and requirements and schedule your visa appointment.

Visa Application Form

  1. Along with a valid passport and photo, the Consulate of India requires a visa application form that is completed online. To access the form follow this link: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/index.html. Click on the blue button labeled "Regular Visa Application" in the bottom-left corner to begin the process. Your application must:

  1. Display your name exactly as it appears in your passport

  2. Include answers for all fields

  3. Be signed on the first page under the photo, and, on the second page. Both signatures must match the signature in your passport

  4. Include your email address on the online application. Applications missing a personal email address will be rejected by the consulate

  5. Be printed on single-sided sheets of paper. Double-sided applications will be rejected. You must fully print the bar code on the bottom of page 1.

  6. Your passport will be shipped back to the address indicated on your application under "Present Address."

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