Understand important dates on your Indian e-Visa or Online Indian Visa
There are 3 important dates dates you need to be aware of with regards to your Indian e-Visa that you have received electronically by email.
- Date of Issue on e-Visa: This is the date when the Indian Immigration Authority issued the e-Visa or Online Indian Visa.
- Date of expiry on e-Visa: This is the last date by which the Indian e-Visa holder must enter India.
- Last day of stay in India: The last day beyond which you cannot stay in India is not mentioned explicity on your India e-Visa. The last day depends on the type of visa you have and date of entry in India.
What is the meaning of Date of Expiry of ETA on my India e-Visa (or Online Indian Visa)
Date of Expiry of ETA causes quite a bit of confusion for tourists to India.
30 Days e-Tourist Visa
If you have applied for a 30-day Tourist India Visa, it is imperative to enter India before the "Date of expiry of ETA."
With a 30-day e-Visa, you are allowed to remain in India for a consecutive period of 30 days starting from your entry date. For instance, if the expiry date on your Indian e-Visa is January 8, 2021, you must enter India before that date.
This requirement doesn't dictate that you must leave India on or before January 8; rather, it signifies that your entry into India must occur by that date. For example, if you arrive in India on January 1, 2021, you can stay until January 30, 2021. Likewise, if your entry is on January 5, your permitted stay extends until February 4.
To put it differently, the maximum duration of stay in India is 30 days from the date of entry.
It is highlighted in red bold letters in your Indian e-Visa:
“e-Tourist Visa Validity period is 30 days from the date of first arrival in India.”
e-Business Visa, 1 Year e-Tourist Visa, 5 Year e-Tourist Visa and e-Medical Visa
For the Business e-Visa for India, 1 Year / 5 Years Tourist e-Visa for India and Medical e-Visa for India, the last date of stay is same as the Date of expiry of ETA mentioned in the Visa. In other words, unlike the 30 day e-Tourist Visa, it does not depend on the date of entry into India. Visitors on aforementioned Indian e-Visas cannot stay beyond this date.
Again, this information is mentioned in red bold letters in the Visa. As as example for an e-Business Visa, it is 365 days or 1 Year.
“e-Visa Validity period is 365 days from the date of issuance of this ETA.”
In summary, for e-Medical Visa, e-Business Visa, 1 Year e-Tourist Visa, 5 Years e-Tourist Visa, the last date of stay in India is same as the ‘Date of expiry of ETA’.
However, for a 30 Day e-Tourist Visa, ‘Date of expiry of ETA’ is not the date of last date of stay in India but it is the last date of entry into India. Last date of stay is 30 day from the date of entry into India.
If you are planning to apply for a Tourist e-Visa (30 day or 1 year or 5 years), ensure that your main reason for travel is recreation or visiting friends or family or yoga programmes. In other words tourist visa is not valid for business trips to India. If your main reason to come to India is commercial in nature, then instead apply for a business visa. Also ensure that you have checked the eligibility for your India e-Visa.
United States citizens, United Kingdom citizens, Canadian citizens and French citizens can apply online for India eVisa.
Please apply for a Indian e-Visa a week in advance of your flight.
