Requirements

Visa requirements to travel to India

Before applying for your India visa, you should verify if you meet all the requirements on this page. Travellers who do not meet one or more of these requirements may be refused boarding on their flight to India or entry into the country. The India visa requirements depend on the type of visa you have selected.

Since the relaxation of the requirements for the online application procedure in spring 2019, most travellers with UK citizenship are eligible for the Indian e-visa.

Conditions that always apply

Regardless of the visa type, the duration of the trip and the purpose of travel, there are a number of requirements that always apply when traveling to India. Only travellers of Indian nationality are exempt from complying with these requirements. On arrival in India, all travellers must have with them:

• the passport they used to apply for the visa
• a passport* with a remaining validity of at least six months, containing at least two blank pages
• a return or transit ticket, to prove that they will leave the country within the authorised period of validity
• a bank statement showing sufficient funds to cover the cost of the trip

* Please note that an India visa is always linked to one passport. If this passport is no longer valid, you will need to bring both the invalid passport and the new valid passport. When a new passport is issued, you usually have to hand in your previous passport, or your previous passport will be invalidated by punching holes in it. As a result, the validity of the India visa connected to the old passport will expire. You must submit a new visa application with your new passport.

Specific requirements for online applications

There are two types of visas for India. In the past, there were only physical sticker visas, which were affixed to the travellers' passport at the consulate. Since 2014, there is also an electronic visa; the so-called e-visa. The e-visa comes with a simpler online application procedure, faster approval and a reduced cost. The e-visa is therefore recommended to all travellers who meet the requirements below.

If you have an Indian e-visa you are only allowed to fly into India via these airports:

Ahmedabad (AMD), Amritsar (ATQ), Siliguri (IXB), Bhubaneswar (BBI), Bengaluru (BLR), Calicut (CCJ), Chennai (MAA), Chandigarh (IXC), Kochi (COK), Coimbatore (CJB), Delhi (DEL), Gaya (GAY), Goa - Dabolim (GOI), Goa - Mopa (GOX), Guwahati (GAU), Indore (IDR), Hyderabad (HYD), Jaipur (JAI), Kannur (CNN), Kolkata (CCU), Lucknow (LKO), Madurai (IXM), Mangaluru (IXE), Mumbai (BOM), Nagpur (NAG), Port Blair (IXZ), Pune (PNQ), Tiruchirappalli (TRZ), Trivandum (TRV), Varanasi (VNS), Visakhapatnam (VTZ)

If you have an Indian e-visa you are only allowed to dock in India through these seaports:

Chennai, Kochi, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Mumbai, Port Blair

In addition, the following requirements apply to the e-visa for India

• Your purpose of travel must be business or tourism (this includes visiting friends or family)
• The traveller will not engage into any employment in India
• The traveller will not work for an NGO and will not perform volunteer work
• The traveller is not going to study at an Indian educational institution
• The traveller will depart from India at one of the above locations, or via an Immigration Check Post*

*Immigration Check Posts (ICP's) can be found at almost all Indian airports and major border crossings.

Make sure you meet the requirements

Travellers who comply with all the above-mentioned Indian e-visa requirements can start the online application process at once. Besides the requirements on this page, you must take into account the validity period and the maximum length of stay of the electronic visa. Learn more about how the online application process works and open the application form by clicking the button below.

Travellers who do not comply with the requirements on this page can still visit the consulate to apply for a physical sticker visa. Consult the page about the physical visa for India for more information.