Visa on Arrival

India is much more than just a developing country. Commercially, travel and tourism trade has witnessed a boom. Seeking an entry into India was a time consuming and expensive affair earlier. But now, it is ready to open the gates for a simpler, wiser and standardized process to welcome other nationalities with the Visa on Arrival  scheme especially for short term visits.

The Gist - Visa on Arrival Scheme

It was on the 27th of November 2014, that the Indian Government introduced Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). More than 40 nations worldwide will be eligible to avail this offer. Some of these countries have already been enjoying the Visa on Arrival  Scheme. An ETA will be issued to travellers for reasons of travel, business visits, short duration medical treatment and visits to friends and families. The Union budget 2015 delivered by the Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, proposes to extend the facility of visa on arrival scheme to 150 countries, a significant increase from the below mentioned 43 countries.

The lucky 43 recipients of this scheme

The current list of 43 countries that can avail visa on arrival are as follows:

Procedure for Visa on Arrival Application: In order to make an application for visa on arrival, the visitor will be required to go through the following steps-

Under visa on arrival scheme, a traveller can choose a maximum of a two-time travel  to  India.  At any point of time for further information, a traveller can visit https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html to clarify doubts, if any.

The fee of this Visa or ETA is a non-refundable amount of USD 60 excluding other bank fees. Recently, the Ministry of Tourism has proposed to extend this facility to  China, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, France and Malaysia. However, nationalities with origin or citizenship of Pakistan cannot apply for ETA and hence will have to apply for a regular tourist visa to enter India.

Additionally, the traveller must not hold any residential property in India but must have passports with a validity of a minimum six months along with the necessary financial soundness for purchasing a return ticket to his or her native place. The Visa under ETA cannot be extended or converted into any other kind. Travelers holding ordinary passports but Diplomatic and Official passports can avail this scheme.

India may have been late in launching the Visa on Arrival  Scheme, but has definitely sparked speculation and witnessed increased interest from travellers worldwide. At a time when technology is so advanced and the world is becoming a smaller place, indeed, this scheme is a highly considerate and timely move to pace up with the rest of the nations.