Most foreign visitors need a visa to enter India, and for tourism the simplest is the electronic visa for India, the e-Tourist Visa applied for online at the official portal. Experience My India recommends the 30-day, 1-year, or 5-year option depending on your trip. One rule matters above all: apply only on indianvisaonline.gov.in, never a lookalike site.
indianvisaonline.gov.in is the only official India e-Visa site. Lookalike “visa” sites file the same application and charge two to five times the government fee. If a site is not indianvisaonline.gov.in, do not pay it.
We take nothing for the visa. It is the government's form, and it is yours to file.
Approved by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India · how we check these figures
Almost certainly yes. Citizens of more than 180 countries can use the electronic visa for India, so most tourists never visit an embassy for tourist visas to India. The main exceptions are Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders, who travel visa-free on their OCI, and citizens of Nepal and Bhutan, who have special entry arrangements. A few nationalities, such as Japan and South Korea, can get a visa on arrival, but most travellers should apply for the India visa online before flying.
Overseas Citizens of India travel visa-free on the OCI card itself.
Citizens of both have special entry arrangements rather than an e-Visa.
A few nationalities, such as Japan and South Korea, can get one — but applying online first is still the safer route.
There are three types of tourist visas for India, all e-Tourist Visas. Pick by how long and how often you will travel. Fees are charged in US dollars on the portal; your card is billed in your own currency at the day’s rate, plus the bank charge.
US$25US$10 in April–June
One trip, inside a month, with no plans to come back this year.
US$40Flat, for most nationalities
Most travellers. Sixteen dollars more than the 30-day, and it stops the clock being a problem.
ReciprocalJapan ~$25 · US $160 · UK $484
Repeat visitors — but check your own figure first, because the spread is enormous.
Rules that apply to all three
Here is the India visa cost by nationality, the full India tourist visa fee and price list. All 35 below are e-Tourist Visa eligible and apply the same way. The 30-day and 1-year fees are the standard rates; the 5-year fee is reciprocal and shown where officially confirmed. Your fee depends on your passport, not where you live, so a British citizen in Dubai still pays the UK rate.
Jump to your passport
| Nationality | 30-day | 1-year | 5-year |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States— read the full guide | $25 / $10* | $40 | $160 |
| United Kingdom— read the full guide | $25 / $10* | $40 | $484 |
| Canada— read the full guide | $25 / $10* | $40 | $80 |
| Australia— read the full guide | $25 / $10* | $40 | $80 |
| Germany | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| France | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Italy | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Spain | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Netherlands | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Ireland | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Portugal | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Sweden | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Switzerland | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Belgium | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Poland | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Japan | $25 / $10* | $40 | $25 |
| South Korea | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| China | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Singapore | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Malaysia | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Thailand | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Vietnam | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Indonesia | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Philippines | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| United Arab Emirates | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Saudi Arabia | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Qatar | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Oman | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Israel | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Brazil | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Mexico | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| New Zealand | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Sri Lanka | $25 / $10* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| Russia | $0* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
| South Africa | $0* | $40 | Reciprocal** |
Scroll the table sideways →
A 2.5–3% bank charge applies to all payments and is non-refundable. Figures verified against 2026 Government of India listings; always confirm your fee on indianvisaonline.gov.in at payment.
Check your exact feeThe whole process is online and usually takes about three to four working days. Do it yourself in fifteen minutes:
Go to the official portal, indianvisaonline.gov.in. This is the only government site; ignore ads for anything else.
Choose “e-Tourist Visa” and your duration (30-day, 1-year, or 5-year).
Fill in your passport, travel, and India address details.
Upload a scan of your passport photo page (PDF) and a recent front-facing photo on a white background (JPEG).
Pay the fee, plus the bank charge, at least four days before you arrive.
Receive your Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) by email, usually within three to four working days. Print it and carry it; immigration stamps your visa on arrival.
Have all four to hand before you open the form.
A passport
Valid at least six months from arrival, with at least two blank pages.
Your passport photo page
A digital scan, PDF, roughly 10–300 KB.
A recent photo
Front-facing, plain white background, JPEG, roughly 10 KB–1 MB. Photo errors are the top reason for rejection.
A payment card
Plus your India address and onward travel details to hand.
Get the photograph wrong and you lose the fee — it is not refunded on a rejection, and there is no appeal.
Start on indianvisaonline.gov.inDo your India visa status check online on the official portal, with your Application ID and passport number. It is free. Anyone charging to “check your status” is reselling a lookup you can do yourself in seconds. Wait until it shows “Granted”, then print your ETA and carry it.
Check it free on indianvisaonline.gov.inThe government fee is non-refundable even on rejection, so getting it right the first time matters. Most rejections come from a non-compliant photo or a mismatch in passport details, not from anything serious. You cannot appeal an e-Visa rejection; you re-apply with the errors fixed and pay again. If you have had a prior refusal or your case is unusual, a regular visa through an Indian mission is sometimes the better route.
Two things follow. Your fee depends on your passport’s nationality, not your country of residence. And you must travel on the exact passport you applied with: if you renew or replace it after the visa is granted, the visa no longer matches and you must apply again. If a new passport is on the way, wait until you have it before you apply.
New passport?Wait for it, then apply.
The e-Visa is valid for first entry through around 33 designated airports and a growing list of seaports — 19 at the last official count, which brought cruise arrivals into scope. You can exit through any authorised immigration checkpoint. If you are flying into a smaller airport or arriving by sea, check your entry point is designated before booking.
Including
Flying into a smaller airport, or arriving by sea? Check your entry point is designated before you book — the exit side is easier, as you can leave through any authorised immigration checkpoint.
India now uses a digital arrival card you submit online within the 72 hours before you land, replacing the old paper form. It is free, it is run by the Bureau of Immigration, and it is an arrival record, not permission to travel: you still need your visa or OCI. Use the same passport you will show at immigration. It takes a few minutes, so fill it in before you fly rather than in a queue.
The e-Tourist Visa covers sightseeing, visiting friends and family, and short yoga or wellness courses. India also issues e-Business, e-Medical, e-Conference, and e-Ayush visas online. You need a regular (sticker) visa from an Indian mission for employment, journalism, study, long stays, or if you are not e-Visa eligible. For pure leisure, the e-Tourist Visa is almost always the right, cheapest, and fastest choice.
Also available online
Needs a sticker visa from an Indian mission
When you plan a trip with Experience My India, we tell you exactly which visa to get for your itinerary, flag the timing, and make sure nothing on the entry side trips you up, so the paperwork is one less thing to worry about. Tell us your dates and we will guide the rest, or browse our trips first.
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 every first trip.
Yes, almost every foreign tourist does; most use the online e-Tourist Visa from indianvisaonline.gov.in.
For most nationalities, US$25 for 30 days (US$10 in April–June) and US$40 for one year, plus a 2.5–3% card charge; the 5-year fee is reciprocal (Japan ~$25, US $160, UK $484).
Three: the 30-day (double entry), the 1-year, and the 5-year (both multiple entry).
A passport valid 6+ months with 2 blank pages, a digital passport photo page, a white-background photo, and card payment; apply on the passport you will travel with.
indianvisaonline.gov.in. Every other paid “visa” site is a third party charging more.
Usually about three to four working days; apply between 4 and 120 days before travel.
Free on the official portal with your Application ID and passport number; never pay a site to check it.
The fee is not refunded and there is no appeal; you fix the error, usually the photo, and re-apply.
No. The e-Visa is tied to the passport you applied with; renew it and you must apply again.
Official portal and rules: indianvisaonline.gov.in. Fees and terms verified against Government of India Bureau of Immigration 2026 listings; always confirm your exact fee on the portal, as rates change.
Fees last checked . We re-check monthly.
indianvisaonline.gov.inSend 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