India gives travelers an additional 120 days to apply for a tourist e-visa.
India has quietly loosened its e-Visa regulations for tourists. Travelers can now select from more online visa categories, apply four months in advance, and arrive by land at Raxaul.
There is some good news that makes things a little easier if you are thinking about traveling to India.
The 30-day tourist e-Visa has strict requirements up until this point. Only within 30 days of your arrival could you submit an application. This made it difficult to schedule an early trip, particularly if lodging or tickets were reserved months in advance.
This rule is no longer in effect.
Extended application period for the India e-Visa
The Indian e-Visa system will let travelers select an arrival date up to 120 days in advance starting on December 18. To put it simply, you can submit an application up to four months prior to your trip.
The visa has not changed in any other way. With the same stay requirements, the 30-day tourist e-Visa remains the same. Timing is the sole distinction.
One crucial point is that this only pertains to e-Visas that are authorized after that date. It does not cover older approvals.
This is a huge relief for those who want to plan ahead.
What Happens If You Want to Stay Longer?
The one-year tourist e-Visa is still available if 30 days seems too short. It can be sought for within the same 120-day term and permits stays of up to 90 days at a time.
This choice is ideal for people who take long vacations, travel slowly, or spend a lot of time with family.
India Gives e-Visa Holders Access to Its First Land Border
How you enter the country is another minor but significant alteration.
In the past, e-Visa holders could only enter the country by air or water. This required traveling via one of the authorized foreign seaports or airports.
India has now added Raxaul, on the border between India and Nepal, as its first land border crossing.
Travelers traveling throughout South Asia who intend to enter India by land from Nepal will find this extremely helpful. For a land crossing, it eliminates the requirement to apply for a regular visa.
India e-Visa Approved Entry Points
Currently, holders of e-Visas can enter India by:
Ahmedabad International Airports
Bagdogra Amritsar
Bengaluru
Calicut's Bhubaneswar
Chandigarh
Chennai
Coimbatore and Cochin
Delhi
Gaya
Goa (Mopa) Goa (Dabolim) Guwahati
Hyderabad
The Indore
The Jaipur
The Kannur
Kolkata
Lucknow
Madurai, Mangalore
Mumbai
Port Blair, Nagpur
Pune
Thiruvananthapuram, Surat
Varanasi, Trichy
The Visakhapatnam
Seaports
Chennai
Cochin
Goa
Mangalore
Mumbai
Land Border Raxaul Port Blair
You can leave and re-enter through any Integrated Check Post in the nation after making your initial entry using the e-Visa and receiving the entry stamp.
India Continues to Increase Online Visa Choices
India's e-Visa system has been gradually expanding to include new visa categories. Prior to 2025, the primary e-Visa categories were:
e-Visa for Tourists
e-Business Visa
Conference Visa
Electronic Health Visa
Visa for Medical Attendants
e-Ayush Visa
e-Visa for Ayush Attendant
Two options pertaining to schooling were added in January 2025:
Visa for Students
Dependent Visa for Students
A number of new, more specialized e-Visas have recently been introduced in:
Visa for e-Transit
e-Visa for Mountaineering
e-Film Visa
e-Entry Visa
Visa for Production Investment
These additional categories demonstrate India's efforts to transfer more immigration services online and to accommodate a wide range of travel-related causes. This now covers travel, adventure travel, education, media and film work, and visits pertaining to investments.
India Changes the Cost of e-Visas for Extended Stays
Additionally, India revised its e-Visa pricing structure, raising the price of five-year tourist visas and one-year business visas. Travelers planning longer or business stays should anticipate rising prices, but short-term tourist and medical e-Visas remain constant.
For many nations, the cost of a one-year e-business visa has gone up.
The price of a five-year e-tourist visa has increased dramatically.
Tourist e-Visas for 30 days and a year are still valid.
According to reciprocity agreements, fees differ by nationality.
New Digital Arrival Card India has implemented a digital arrival form known as the e-Arrival Card in addition to the recent modifications to the e-Visa system.
Travelers can enter their arrival information online up to 72 hours prior to landing starting on October 7, 2025. The objective is straightforward: less paperwork and quicker border clearance
For the time being, the paper arrival card will continue to be used as things change. A visa cannot be replaced by the digital version. It is not authorization to enter; it is merely a declaration of arrival.
What This Actually Means for Travelers
When combined, these modifications make planning and entering India slightly simpler.
You can select from an expanding number of online visa options, apply sooner, and arrive by land from Nepal if necessary. Although it is not ostentatious, these minor adjustments are significant for frequent travelers.
