Things to know for Visa on Arrival at Delhi airport
Whether you are visiting a country on an official purpose or travelling on vacation, it is necessary to know all the details regarding the country’s visa beforehand so that you will enjoy a smooth and easy travelling experience. Heading to a new country can be an exciting experience but also stressful when you are not ready with the travel protocol. India has many International airports which provide a stress-free entry for the international travelers visiting the country.
For obtaining a visa, you must go through the process of passport verification, submission of flight and hotel documents and be aware of the exact dates of the travel.
For full-time travellers, on arrival Indian visas can be easily processed provided you have the right documents in hand.
Here is some useful information about on arrival travel visa for international citizens visiting Delhi:
- One of the services that you can conveniently make use of while applying for an Indian visa is that you can go for iVisa. iVisa is a visa processing service that handles the whole process of visa generation. The process takes about 48 hours to complete.
- In the year 2014 November, India has put into practice Travel Visa on Arrival (TVoA) or Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). According to this rule, citizens of 43 countries are allowed to acquire an Indian visa on arrival. In 2015, the travel authorities started the e-visa program for other countries in order to promote tourism.
- In April 2017, the Indian e-visa program introduced new visa categories like medical, business and tourist. As of now, tourists all over the world from 160 countries are eligible for applying for an Indian e-visa.
- From April 2019 onwards, a new update has been incorporated in the e-visa. For citizens from Canada, the UK and the US, both business e-visas and tourist e-visas are valid for 365 days which includes a stay of maximum 180 days for each entry.
- For all the other nations, a business e-visa is valid for 365 days with a maximum stay period of 180 days per entry. A tourist e-visa is valid for the duration of 365 days with a maximum stay of 90 days for each entry.
Things to know before applying for an Indian on arrival visa
- Indian on arrival visa is available for the passport holders from 167 countries and territories. Those countries include the US, UK, European Union, Canada, Australia, Thailand, Philippines and more.
- For easy processing, you can make use of the visa service providers to avoid hassle and make your journey smooth.
- The visa applicants from the eligible countries can apply online minimum 4 days prior to the arrival date with a buffer period of 30 days. For example, if you apply on 1st April, you can select the date of arrival from 5th April to 4th May.
- The time period for which Indian E-visa is valid is 365 days from the arrival date in India.
- It is necessary to carry a recent front-face photograph with a white background. It is important to ensure that the photograph is clear. Otherwise, there are chances that the application could be rejected.
- Note that the passport should be having a validity of at least six months.
- The travel visa on arrival, once paid cannot be refunded.
- It is necessary to carry a copy of ETA while travelling.
- The biometrics of the travellers will be acquired on arrival in India.
- Electronic Travel Authorization is legal for entering through 9 designated airports, including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Cochin, Goa, Trivandrum, Mumbai and Kolkata.
- It is allowed for a maximum of two entries into India for on arrival visa.
- Note that if you are a citizen of a country that is affected by yellow fever, it is necessary to carry the yellow fever vaccination card when you arrive in India.
- If you are not leaving the airport, the visa is not needed. If you have a stopover in India, you don’t require a visa as you will not be leaving the airport.
- While paying for the Indian e-visa, make sure that you do not attempt to pay more than three times. If you attempt to do so, your application ID will be blocked. You must start the process again and get a new application ID.
- Make a note of your application ID. In case you want to track the status of your application and check the status of the visa, you can do so by knowing your application ID and passport number.
Once everything is correct and the approval is done, you will receive an email with TVoA Indian visa attached. Ensure that you print this on arrival visa and disclose it to the TVoA booth in one of the 28 designated airports.
Many visitors coming to India are confused about whether they need a visa to transit through India to another place. It depends on several aspects like the length of the transit and if you would like to step out of the airport.
You can transit to India without a visa if:
- Layover time is less than a day (24 hours) according to the schedule of the arrival and departure times.
- You hold confirmed flight tickets to the destination.
- You are waiting in the transit area that is you will not attempt to clear immigration.
In India, the popular cities for travellers entering into the country are New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. The New Delhi airport, which is named as Indira Gandhi International Airport, is one of the busiest airports in the country with respect to air traffic. This airport has three different terminal units. For international passengers, terminal 3 is the one which is used for landing international flights. Although Delhi Airport is the common gateway for international passengers to the country, there are scheduled flights available from Bangalore to Delhi, Kolkata to Delhi and Mumbai to Delhi.
In the Delhi Airport, there are about 64 e-visa on arrival counters. The idea behind having so many counters is that it greatly reduces the queue time for passengers.
There is an exclusive route for the e-visa on arrival passengers. These travellers will not be combined with regular immigration passengers.
Here are some of the tips that you can follow to have a hassle-free arrival to the Delhi Airport:
- Ensure that you carry a hard copy of the on arrival visa which you have applied for online. The check-in agent in the airport will inquire about the e-visa document before you check in to ensure that you are carrying a hard copy of the document.
- After you enter the Delhi International Airport, you can observe that there are separate queues for the airline, crew, Indian passport holders, Diplomatic passport holders and also some special counters for Electronic tourist visa for India. Please ensure that you stand in the correct queue.
- Always make sure that you check the stamp in the passport. Get an idea of how long you can stay in the country so that you can avoid getting into trouble due to overstaying.
- If there is a need for you to exchange currency, do that immediately before you leave the airport. The exchange rates are expensive outside the airport when compared to inside.
- It is mandatory that all the travellers arriving at the airport must fill the Immigration/Customs form. This should be disclosed to the immigration officer on arrival.
With the help of the tips given above, obtaining a visa on arrival at the Delhi Airport should be a piece of cake. Ensure that you are in possession of all the required documents before you begin your journey to India.
