India restores e-Tourist Visa for 1 year and 5 years
Since 2014, the Indian Government has launched Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) which allows citizens of more than 150 countries to visit India for sightseeing, visiting relatives, short-term medical service and short business trips. A good news for international visitors who want to stay longer in this beautiful country is that the Government of India has restored India 1 year tourist visa and India 5-year e tourist visa with immediate effect which was suspended due to the outbreak of coronavirus in March 2020.
According to the announcement, citizens of 156 eligible countries are now allowed to obtain a long term e-tourist visa from 16 March 2022. In addition, Tourist visa that has a validity of 5 years, issued to citizens of all countries shall be restored. The Government has also removed the suspension on valid long-duration (10 years) regular tourist visas and granted fresh long-duration (10 year) tourist visas for US and Japan nationals.
1. The validity of 1 year India e-tourist visa and 5 years India tourist visa
1 year India e-tourist visa and 5-year India e-tourist visa are granted for international travelers who wish to have a longer trip to India for many purpose such as sightseeing, visiting friends or relatives, having a short term yoga programme, eroling on short term courses on local languages, music, dance, arts & crafts, cooking, medicine which should not be a formal or structured course/programme (courses not exceeding 6 months duration and not issued with a qualifying certificate/diploma etc) or voluntary work (for a maximum period of one month, which do not involve any monetary payment or consideration of any kind in return).
Holders of a one year India e-tourist visa can stay in India within 365 days and those obtaining an e-tourist India visa 5 years are able to stay here up to 5 years from the date of grant of ETA with multiple entries to India over the period. However, their continuous stay during each visit in India shall not be longer than 90 days, except for US and Japanese citizens who are allowed up to 180 days in a year for their stay duration in India.
2. Required documents for India 1 year and 5 years e-tourist visa
The international visitors obtaining these types of visas may enter this country only through designated Sea Immigration Check Posts (ICPs) or Airports ICPs by flights, including those under the Vande Bharat Mission or 'air bubble' scheme or by any flights as allowed by the DGCA or Ministry of Civil Aviation. They are not allowed to enter through land borders or riverine routes.
Foreign visitors who are planning a trip in India with their relatives or friends should also prepare some required documents for e-tourist visas before confirming their flight tickets and tour bookings with travel agencies. There are a few requirements for international tourists to apply for an India 1 year e-tourist visa and 5-year India tourist visa including passports, photos.
Travelers must have a passport that is valid for at least six month from their arrival date in India and has at least two blank pages. They will have to prepare a scan of the biographical page of their passport and a photograph with a clear face and background. In addition, applicants must provide their personal email address to get their e-tourist visa.
Read more: India e-tourist visa requirements
3. India long-term evisa cost
Travelers applying for long-term e tourist visas must pay two types of India e-Visa fees to complete their visa application process. These fees are government and service fees. If foreign nationals are not on the Indian e-visa exemption list, then the government fee is required.
India one year e-tourist visa fee and India 5 years e-tourist visa cost vary depending on what service the travelers want to use. If they use normal service, which is the cheapest, they have to wait for 3 business days to obtain their e-visa. For urgent service, international visitors will receive the results for their e-tourist visa within 24 hours. Super urgent service is used for those applicants who need to get their e-tourist visa as soon as possible, which means they have to pay more for this service.
For more information about India e-tourist Visa fees and charges, please refer to India visa fees. Visitors are also advised to purchase COVID-19 insurance to protect their benefits when traveling abroad.
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