India e-Visa for Tourists 2025: The Most Helpful Step-by-Step Guide (From Travellers Who’ve Done It)

Applying for an India e-Visa can feel almost as confusing as planning your whole trip – especially when you’re staring at a long online form and worrying you’ll click the wrong thing and get rejected.

But India is an incredible country, and you shouldn’t let any visa worries affect your trip of a lifetime.

We’ve done this process ourselves for trips to Goa, Rajasthan and Kerala, and even as regular India travellers, the form still manages to trip you up with odd questions, tiny file sizes and mostly unexplained requirements. The official guidance is often vague and doesn’t tell you what to do when you get to the confusing parts.

So this guide explains everything clearly, in plain English – including the questions travellers usually get stuck on. Whether you’re applying for the first time or you’re halfway through the form and Googling what to put as your “Indian reference”, you’ll find the answer here.

What is the India e-Visa, and Who Can Apply?

India’s e-Visa is a fully online visa. You apply and pay online, then receive an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation). Print it out, take it with you, and you’ll be stamped into India on arrival.

It’s available for most nationalities, including:

• UK
• USA
• Canada
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Most of Europe
  

You can use an e-Visa if you’re visiting for:

• tourism
• short casual business
• short-term medical treatment
  

You must enter India through one of the designated e-Visa airports or seaports.

It’s a good idea to check the latest official guidance for travel before committing to your visa application. For example, from the UK Foreign Office.

Types of India e-Visa (Tourist, Business, Medical)

For most people visiting Goa, Rajasthan or Kerala, you’ll be choosing a tourist e-Visa.

Tourist e-Visa options

30-day e-Tourist Visa

• Stay up to 30 days
  
• Valid for entry during a specific window you choose
  
• Cheapest option
  

1-year or 5-year e-Tourist Visa

• Valid for 1 or 5 years from the day it’s granted
  
• Multiple entries allowed
  
• Max 180 days per calendar year in India
  

Costs – guide for UK / US / EU travellers

For business or medical trips, there are separate e-Visas that require extra documents (e.g. business card or hospital letter).

When Should You Apply for the India e-Visa?

This is where most people get confused.

30-day tourist e-Visa

You can normally apply:

• 30 days before your arrival, up to
  
• 4 days before you land (don’t leave it this late)
  

1-year or 5-year tourist e-Visa

You can apply up to 120 days before you arrive.

Our recommendation

We usually apply 20–25 days before flying.
This gives time for payment failures or mistakes without cutting it close.

The Top 3 Reasons India e-Visas Get Rejected

From both official guidance and real-world experience:

1. Bad photo or passport upload

• wrong format
• shadows or glare
• blurry or cropped wrong
• not a plain white background
  

2. Form details don’t match the passport exactly

• typos in name
• wrong passport number
• mixed-up day/month format
  

3. Passport validity issues

• less than 6 months remaining
• not enough blank pages
  

If you take nothing else away from this guide, remember this:

Type everything exactly as on your passport, and prepare your photo + passport scan before you start.

Step 1: Use the Correct Official Website

There are many lookalike sites that charge double or triple the real cost.

The only correct site is: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html
(search “e-Visa India official“ if unsure)

Signs you’re on the real one:

• Government of India emblem
• Tabs labelled “e-Visa”, “Visa Status”, “Regular Visa Application”
• Plain government-style layout
• Not overly salesy
  

Step 2: Prepare Your Photo and Passport Scan

Doing this before starting the form makes the whole process much easier.

Your digital photograph

• JPEG
• 10 KB to 1 MB
• Square (minimum 350 × 350 px)
• Plain white background
• Taken by someone else (no selfie)
  

Passport page scan

• PDF
• 10 KB to 300 KB
• Entire page visible
• No shadows or glare
• All text readable
  

Tip: Use an iPhone document scanner and resize with ilovepdf.com.

Step 3: Start the India e-Visa Application

Click “Apply here for e-Visa” and begin.

This is where the form becomes confusing, so here’s what each page actually means (with examples).

Step 4: Page 1 – Basic Travel Details

Passport type

Choose Ordinary Passport.

Nationality

Select your passport nationality (e.g., United Kingdom).

Port of arrival

The first airport you land in India.

Example:
If you fly London → Mumbai → Goa, your port of arrival is Mumbai, not Goa.

Date of birth

Enter using DD/MM/YYYY.

Email

Use one you check – this is where the ETA updates will be sent.

Expected date of arrival

Your arrival date in India.

For 30-day visas, your whole trip must fit within 30 days of this date.

Visa service

Select e-Tourist Visa, then pick 30-day, 1-year, or 5-year.

When you click continue, you’ll get a Temporary Application ID.
Screenshot it – the site sometimes logs you out.

Step 5: Pages 2 & 3 – Personal, Passport & Address Details

These pages are simple but easy to mess up.

IMPORTANT:

Enter everything exactly as on your passport, including:

• full middle names
• hyphens
• spelling
• order of names

Confusing field: “Place of Issue”

For UK passports, use: HMPO or London or UK

Step 6: Page 4 – Family Details

Even if your parents are deceased, you must still provide:

• their names
• nationality
• place of birth
  

Confusing question:

“Were your parents or grandparents ever citizens of Pakistan…?”

If the answer is yes, you may need extra checks and may not be eligible for e-visa.
For most travellers, the answer is simply No.

If married, you may also be asked for:

• spouse name
• nationality
• place of birth
  

Step 7: Page 5 – Occupation and Trip Details

Present occupation

Choose the closest match. Examples:

• Self-employed? → Select Business or Others
• Freelancer? → Others
• Retired? → Retired
  

Employer name and address

If retired:

• Employer: Retired
• Address: NA
  

Places to be visited

This often confuses people.

Just list your main stops:

• Delhi
• Agra
• Jaipur
• Goa
  

You don’t need every day trip.

Duration of visit

Number of days you’ll be in India.

Accommodation/tour operator

If booking independently, enter your first hotel’s details.

Step 8: Page 6 – Previous India Travel & SAARC Countries

If this is your first visit, most of this page is quick.

Have you visited India before?

If yes, they’ll ask for:

• visa number
• type of visa
• place of issue
• date of issue
  

If you dont know the old visa number, writing “unknown” is commonly accepted.

Countries visited in the last 10 years

Don’t overthink this.
The box has a limit, so add your main countries only.

Step 9: Page 7 – References in India & Home Country

Reference in India

Use your first night’s accommodation.

You need:

• hotel/guesthouse name
• address
• phone number (Google Maps is fine)
  

Reference in home country

Any friend or family member not travelling with you.

Step 10: Security Questions

They look scary, but they’re standard:

• criminal history
• terrorism
• trafficking
• deportation
• asylum
  

Most travellers will simply answer No to all.

Step 11: Upload Your Photo and Passport PDF

Upload the files you prepared earlier.

Tips:

• Make sure your entire face fits inside the crop box
• Zoom to check clarity
• If the passport shows a shadow, re-scan it
• If the upload fails, reduce the file size
  

If applying for e-Business or e-Medical, upload the extra document now.

Step 12: Final Review and Payment

You’ll now see your full application with your photo at the top.

Double-check:

• name spelling
• date of birth
• passport number
• passport expiry
• arrival port
• arrival date
  

Once you proceed, you cannot edit.

Payment tips

You’ll usually have:

• SBI
• Axis Bank
• sometimes PayPal
  

Axis Bank works most reliably for UK cards.

Important:

• If payment fails more than 3 times, your application may be blocked
• Wait an hour before retrying
• Use a card that supports international purchases
  

Most approvals arrive within 24–48 hours, though officially it can take up to 72.

Step 13: Download & Print Your Approved e-Visa (ETA)

When approved, you’ll get an email saying “Visa Granted”.

To download the real document:

1. Go to the official site
2. Click “Visa Status / Print e-Visa”
3. Enter:
   • Application ID
   • Passport number
   • Date of birth
4. Print your ETA
   

Print at least two copies.

You’ll show it:

• at airline check-in
• at the e-Visa counter in India
  

Your photo and fingerprints will be taken and your passport stamped.

Check that the date on the entry stamp is correct.

Extra India e-Visa Tips to Avoid Stress

• Don’t apply on your phone
• Don’t rush – the site occasionally resets fields
• Keep your passport next to you
• Your ETA email may go to spam
• “Still under process” for a day or two is completely normal
• Apply earlier if travelling near Diwali or Christmas (slower processing)
  

Frequently Asked Questions