Since 1 April 2026, every foreign traveller and OCI cardholder must submit India’s free e-Arrival Card online within 72 hours before landing, replacing the old paper form. Experience My India flags this for every guest: it is not a visa, it is a quick arrival declaration, and you submit it only at indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival or the Su-Swagatam app.
The e-Arrival Card is free. Submit it only at indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival or the official Su-Swagatam app. Any site charging a fee for it is a third party; the government never charges for this form.
We take nothing for this. It is the government's form, it is free, and it is yours to file.
Approved by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India · how we check these rules
The e-Arrival Card is a short online declaration that replaces the paper disembarkation card airlines used to hand out mid-flight. Introduced under the Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025, it became mandatory for OCI cardholders in October 2025 and for all other foreign nationals on 1 April 2026, when the paper form was discontinued. It records who is arriving and where they will stay; it is not a visa and does not grant entry on its own.
October 2025
OCI cardholders
The card became mandatory for OCI cardholders first.
1 April 2026
All foreign nationals
The paper disembarkation card was discontinued on the same day.
Almost every foreign visitor does. You must submit one if you are a foreign national or an OCI cardholder entering India for any purpose, whether on an e-Visa, a regular visa, a visa on arrival, or visa-exemption. You are exempt only if you hold a standard Indian passport, or if you are transiting and stay entirely airside without clearing immigration. If you leave the airside area, you must submit it.
Almost every visitor
Only in these two cases
If you leave the airside area, you must submit it.
Submit within the 72 hours before your scheduled arrival. The system will reject submissions made more than 72 hours ahead, so do not do it a week early. The sweet spot is 24 to 48 hours before your flight, when your plans are fixed but you are not up against the airport WiFi. Airlines may ask to see it at check-in, so do not leave it until you land.
Too early
More than 72 hours out
The system may reject a submission made this far ahead.
The sweet spot
24 to 48 hours out
Your plans are fixed and you are not relying on airport WiFi.
Too late
At the airport, or after landing
Airlines may ask to see it at check-in.
There are three official ways, all free: the Bureau of Immigration portal at indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival, the Bureau of Immigration site boi.gov.in, or the Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app (Android and iOS, published by the National Informatics Centre). The app and the web portal submit to the same government system and produce the same QR code.
indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival
The Bureau of Immigration portal. The one most travellers use.
indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrivalboi.gov.in
The Bureau of Immigration's own site, which reaches the same form.
boi.gov.inIndian Visa Su-Swagatam app
Android and iOS, published by the National Informatics Centre. It can save your profile if you travel to India often.
All three are free and reach the same government system. If a site asks you to pay for an e-Arrival Card, it is not one of them — indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival is where it is done.
It takes about five to ten minutes. Have your passport and trip details ready:
Go to indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival or open the Su-Swagatam app, and choose the e-Arrival Card (not the visa section).
Enter your name exactly as printed in your passport, plus date of birth, nationality, and passport number with its issue and expiry dates.
Add your visa type or OCI number, your purpose of visit, your address in India, and the countries you have visited in the last six days.
Review everything carefully; corrections are not possible after you submit.
Submit, then save the QR code it generates. Show that QR code at immigration on arrival.
This is the mistake we see most. When you submit, the system generates your QR code once. If you close the browser or app without downloading or screenshotting it, you cannot retrieve it, and submitting again creates a duplicate record. Save the QR code, and a backup screenshot, before you go anywhere.
About five to ten minutes, and it costs nothing.
You do not need a separate submission for each person. One form can cover a family or group of up to five: use the “Add Member” option to enter everyone’s details together, and the cards download as a single file. For groups larger than five, submit in batches.
The e-Arrival Card is a separate step from your visa, and it does not replace one. You still need a valid India e-Visa or regular visa (or an OCI card) to travel, plus the e-Arrival Card as a second document. It is also not the old COVID-era Air Suvidha health form, which no longer applies to normal arrivals.
First: Your visa
e-Visa, regular visa, or an OCI card.
Then: The e-Arrival Card
Within the 72 hours before you land.
Think of the order as: visa first, then e-Arrival Card within 72 hours of landing.
The complete India e-Visa guidePaying a third-party site
The card is free on the official portal and app; anyone charging for it is reselling a free service.
Submitting too early
More than 72 hours before arrival and the system may reject it.
Losing the QR code
Closing the page before saving it means it cannot be retrieved.
A mismatch with your passport or visa
Enter everything exactly as printed.
When you plan a trip with Experience My India, we remind you about the e-Arrival Card and the 72-hour window as part of your pre-departure checklist, alongside the right visa, so nothing on the entry side catches you out.
50,000+ guests hosted from 35+countries. We do not charge for visa advice, and we never file it for you — it is the government's form.
Agra, Uttar PradeshThe short answers, for the questions travellers send us before they fly.
Yes, since 1 April 2026 for all foreign nationals and OCI cardholders; the paper form has been discontinued.
Yes. It is free on the official portal and the Su-Swagatam app; any site charging a fee is a third party.
Within the 72 hours before your scheduled arrival; submissions made earlier than that may be rejected.
At indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival, boi.gov.in, or the official Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app.
No. It is an arrival declaration only; you still need a valid e-Visa or regular visa to travel.
Yes; OCI cardholders have needed the e-Arrival Card since October 2025.
Yes, up to five people using the Add Member option, downloaded as a single file.
Official portal: indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival. Details verified against Government of India Bureau of Immigration and US Embassy 2026 advisories; always confirm the current rule before you fly.
Rules last checked . We re-check at every review.
indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrivalSend us your dates and we will tell you which visa your itinerary actually needs, when to apply for it, and what else the entry side will ask of you — before you book anything.
50,000+ guests hosted from 35+ countries · 500+ local, third-generation guides