Welcome to India! For intrepid travelers who’ve been waiting for it to get easier to visit the largest democracy, things are looking up.
Citizens of 43 countries, including the U.S., Brazil, Germany and Australia, can now apply for a visa-on-arrival, cutting out the need to visit an Indian embassy and wait in line for a permit.
The Ministry of Tourism has just released the details. What you need is a passport valid for six months, a photograph, $60 and four days.
You can upload these documents along with an online application form on this website, pay your visa fees via debit or credit card, and wait to receive an “electronic travel authorization” via email.
Sounds too good to be true? Here is the fine print:
You are only welcome if your “sole objective of visiting India is recreation, sight seeing, casual visit to meet friends or relatives, short duration medical treatment or casual business visit,” according to the website.
You should have a return ticket as well as enough money to spend during your stay in India.
You must apply at least four days at up to 30 days in advance of your visit to India, and once you arrive you can only stay in the country for 30 days.
When you arrive at one of nine airports — Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi ,Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Trivandrum — you’ll need to present your electronic travel authorization, and have your biometric details recorded at immigration.
You can’t extend this visa, or apply for it more than twice in a year.
Your photograph in the application should show a front view of your full face from the top of your hair to the bottom of your chin, centered within the frame and with your eyes open. Make sure there are no shadows on the face or background, and upload a square image without borders — against a white or light background — as a JPEG file between 10 KB and 1 MB in size.
Run into trouble during the application process? Track the status online by clicking here or call +91-11-24300666 or email indiatvoa@gov.in.
Here’s a full list of eligible countries including 12 that were already able to get visa on arrival: Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue Island, Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, UAE, Ukraine, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam
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