The physical (sticker-)visa for India
The physical visa for India is a sticker that a consular officer affixes to your passport, hence its name. Sticker visas are meant for travellers who do not meet the requirements for the electronic visa.
When do I have to apply for a physical visa?
All travellers not holding an Indian passport need to apply for a visa to enter India. Children and babies also need their own visa to travel to India. There are two ways to meet the visa requirement, either with an electronic e-visa or with a physical visa. As long as the traveller meets the corresponding requirements, the Indian authorities recommend to use the electronic visa. The reason for this is that the administrative procedure to obtain an electronic visa is simpler, both for the traveller and the Indian government. If these requirements are not met, you can always apply for a physical visa.
It is always mandatory to apply for an India visa before travelling to India; check if you can apply for an electronic visa or if you should apply for a physical sticker visa.
Physical or electronic visa for India?
If you want to travel to India but you are not sure if you have to apply for an e-visa or a physical visa, check the e-visa requirements in the first place. If you meet these requirements, you can apply for the official India visa via this website. If you do not meet the requirements, you must find out what kind of physical visa you need and how the application process works.
How to apply for a physical visa
The High Commission of India in the United Kingdom is responsible for issuing physical visas to travellers who apply for their visa in the UK. In order to lighten their administrative workload, the High Commission has outsourced the entire physical visa application process to a commercial organisation: VFS Global. On VFS Global's website, travellers are able to find out what visa type suits their situation or purpose of travel. VFS Global has several offices in the United Kingdom: the Visa Application Centers. Since only VFS Global is authorised to issue physical visas, travellers need to go to a Visa Application Center with their passports, or send them by post to a Visa Application Center.
Types of physical visas for India
In order to apply for a physical visa, travellers need to know what type of visa is best suited to their situation. Each visa has its own requirements and validity period. The price of the physical visa depends both on the type of visa and the desired maximum lenght of stay.
There are special physical visas for: tourists, business travellers, transit travellers, students, interns, researchers, diplomats, journalists, film crews, conference attendees, top athletes, mountaineers, missionaries, medical travellers and immigrants.
