You’ve booked flights to Delhi. Your itinerary is set: three weeks from Mumbai to Kerala. Then you open the Indian visa application website and see 15 dropdown menus, confusing document upload slots, and a payment gateway that looks like it was designed in 2008. Your palms start sweating. You’re not alone. Over 40% of e-Visa applications get rejected or delayed because of mistakes in the first 10 minutes of filling out the form. This guide walks you through the exact process and, more importantly, the traps that trip up most travelers.
Step 1: Determine Which e-Visa Type You Actually Need
The Indian government offers five e-Visa sub-categories, but three cover 95% of tourists and short-term travelers. Choosing the wrong one is the #1 cause of rejection at immigration.
e-Tourist Visa covers sightseeing, visiting friends, and short yoga retreats. It comes in 30-day (double entry), 1-year (multiple entry), and 5-year (multiple entry) variants. The 30-day version costs $25 for peak season (January–March, October–December) and $10 for off-peak. You cannot work or attend business meetings on this visa.
e-Business Visa allows meetings, conferences, and exploratory visits. It costs $80 for 1-year validity. You need a letter of invitation from an Indian company or a business card showing your role. Do NOT use this just because you “might do some work” — immigration officers ask for proof of invitation.
e-Medical Visa is for treatment at recognized Indian hospitals. It costs $80 and allows three entries within 60 days. You need a letter from the hospital confirming the appointment.
Common mistake: Travelers on a 30-day e-Tourist Visa who enter through one airport and try to leave from a different one. The 30-day visa allows entry through 28 designated airports and 5 seaports, but you must exit from any of those same ports. Land borders are not valid for e-Visa holders. If your plan includes crossing into Nepal by bus, you need a regular paper visa from the Indian embassy.
Step 2: The Application Form — Where Most People Screw Up
The application lives at indianvisaonline.gov.in. That’s the only official site. Any .com, .org, or .net domain is a third-party vendor charging 2–5x the fee.
Personal Details Section
Your name must match your passport exactly. If your passport has a middle name, enter it in the “Given Name” field. If you have only a first and last name, leave “Middle Name” blank. Do NOT write “N/A” or “None” — the system reads those as invalid characters and flags your application for manual review.
Passport number: Enter exactly as printed, including any letters. Indian e-Visa processing rejects applications where the passport number has a space or a hyphen that doesn’t appear on the actual passport. Check twice.
Address in India
You need a full address of your first hotel or homestay. Not “various hotels.” Not “Taj Mahal.” If you haven’t booked anything yet, use a refundable booking from Booking.com or MakeMyTrip. Write the street address, city, state, and pincode. The system cross-references this against your arrival form. If the address doesn’t match what you write on the immigration card, you get pulled aside for questioning.
Photo and Passport Upload
The photo must be 2×2 inches (51x51mm), white background, no glasses, no shadows, taken within the last 6 months. The passport scan must show the entire page — edges, machine-readable zone, and photo. Files must be under 300KB in JPEG format. Use an online compressor if needed. A blurry or cropped photo is the second most common rejection reason.
Step 3: Payment and Processing Timelines
Payment is done through the government portal. They accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. The transaction happens in Indian Rupees, so your bank may charge a foreign transaction fee (typically 1–3%).
| Visa Type | Standard Processing | Fee (USD) | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| e-Tourist 30-day (peak) | 3–5 business days | $25 | 30 days from arrival |
| e-Tourist 30-day (off-peak) | 3–5 business days | $10 | 30 days from arrival |
| e-Tourist 1-year | 4–7 business days | $40 | 1 year from issue |
| e-Business | 5–7 business days | $80 | 1 year from issue |
| e-Medical | 2–4 business days | $80 | 60 days from arrival |
Processing time starts only after you submit payment and receive an Application ID. Weekends and Indian public holidays do not count as business days. If you apply on a Friday afternoon, expect the visa by Wednesday or Thursday. Do NOT book non-refundable flights or hotels until the e-Visa is approved and emailed to you.
Urgent processing: There is no official expedited e-Visa service. Paying more to a third-party website does not speed up the government system. It only empties your wallet faster.
Step 4: When NOT to Apply for an e-Visa
This section saves more travelers than any step-by-step guide. The e-Visa system has hard limits that many people discover only after their application is rejected.
You Cannot Apply If…
- Your passport has less than 6 months of validity from your intended arrival date.
- You have a Pakistani passport or are of Pakistani origin (even if you hold another passport). You must apply for a regular visa at the Indian embassy.
- You are a diplomatic or official passport holder. Only regular passports qualify.
- You plan to work for an Indian company, teach, or volunteer. The e-Visa explicitly prohibits employment. You need an Employment Visa (X Visa) from the embassy.
- You intend to stay more than 180 days in a single visit. The e-Tourist Visa caps continuous stay at 180 days. After that, you must leave India for at least 2 months before reapplying.
- You want to enter through a land border. e-Visas are only valid at 28 airports and 5 seaports. If your trip includes a bus from Nepal to India, get a paper visa.
Alternative for land border entries: Apply for a regular tourist visa at the Indian embassy in your home country. Processing takes 5–10 business days. The cost is similar to the e-Visa, but the paper visa allows entry at any border checkpoint.
Step 5: After Approval — What to Carry and What to Expect
Once your e-Visa is approved, you receive an email with a PDF attachment. Print TWO copies. Keep one in your carry-on and one in your checked luggage. The immigration officer at the airport will ask to see it.
At immigration: You’ll be directed to an e-Visa counter. The officer will scan your passport, check your photo against your printed visa, and ask basic questions: “How long are you staying?” “Where are you staying?” “What is the purpose of your visit?” Answer exactly what you wrote on the application. If you said “tourism” and then say “business meeting,” you get a red flag.
Biometric registration: Most airports now collect fingerprints and a facial photo for all e-Visa holders. This adds 5–10 minutes to the process. It’s mandatory.
FRRO registration: If you stay longer than 180 days on a single entry (possible on the 1-year or 5-year e-Tourist Visa), you must register at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office within 14 days of completing 180 days. Failure to register results in a fine of $50–$200 and possible deportation.
Step 6: Common Pitfalls That Derail Even Careful Applicants
You’ve followed every step. Your application is submitted. Then something goes wrong. Here are the three most frequent failure modes and how to fix them.
Pitfall #1: The “Payment Successful but No Application ID” Error
This happens when your bank approves the transaction but the government portal crashes before generating your Application ID. Your money is gone, but no visa application exists.
Fix: Wait 24 hours. Check your email spam folder. If no Application ID arrives, email the e-Visa help desk at [email protected] with your passport number, payment reference, and bank transaction ID. They usually respond within 48 hours and either issue the ID or initiate a refund. Do NOT reapply immediately — you’ll pay twice.
Pitfall #2: Rejected Because “Photo Does Not Meet Standards”
You uploaded a photo that looks fine to you, but the automated system rejects it. The system checks head size (50–70% of the photo must be your face), background color (pure white, not off-white or cream), and lighting (no shadows on your face).
Fix: Use a free online tool like IDPhotoDIY or Passport Photo Online. Set it to Indian visa specifications (2×2 inches, 300 DPI). Take the photo against a white wall in natural daylight, not under a yellow lamp. No glasses, no hair covering your face. Re-upload within 7 days of the rejection email.
Pitfall #3: Arriving at the Airport and the Visa Hasn’t Arrived
You applied 5 business days ago. Your flight leaves in 2 hours. The visa email is still not in your inbox.
Fix: Go to the airport anyway. Indian immigration has a separate counter for e-Visa queries. Show them your Application ID and payment receipt. They can check the status in their internal system. If the visa was approved but the email failed, they can print it at the counter. If it’s still processing, they may allow you to board and process on arrival — but this is at their discretion. Do not rely on this. Apply at least 7 days before departure.