New Delhi: India has expanded its e visa facility by adding 11 more international entry points, including the Attari land border in Punjab along the India Pakistan frontier. The move increases the total number of designated entry points for e visa holders to 88 across the country.
The latest additions include two airports and nine land ports. The new airports are Bhopal and Tirupati, while the newly notified land ports include Darranga, Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon, Dawki, Moreh and Attari Road, along with another newly designated entry point.
With the expansion, e visa holders can now enter India through 37 airports, 38 seaports and 13 land ports.
The facility is available to foreign nationals eligible for Indian e visas across 17 categories, including tourism, business, medical treatment, education, transit, cruise travel, mountaineering and group visits. Most applications are processed within 72 hours, making the electronic visa system a key part of India’s effort to simplify international travel.
However, Pakistani passport holders and foreign nationals of Pakistani origin remain excluded from the e visa facility. They are required to apply for a regular Indian visa through an Indian diplomatic mission.
The expanded network includes major airports such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Goa’s Dabolim and Mopa airports, as well as several major seaports including Mumbai, Mormugao, Mundra, Cochin, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and New Mangalore.
India introduced the e visa system in 2014 for citizens of 43 countries. Since then, the programme has expanded considerably and is now available to nationals of 172 countries.
The addition of new airports and land borders is expected to make the e visa system more accessible while strengthening India’s connectivity with international tourists, business travellers, students and other eligible visitors.
