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Holidays, business trips, medical visits
Short-Term Visits
Most travellers to India — tourists, business visitors, short medical trips — use the 30-day e-Tourist Visa or its Business/Medical equivalents. Here’s what actually matters for a short trip: where you’re allowed to land, how long you can stay, and the rules that trip people up.
General information only, not legal advice. Confirm your specific eligibility at indianvisaonline.gov.in. See our full disclaimer on the hub page.
You can only land at a designated airport
This is the single most important short-trip rule: e-Visa holders can only enter India through one of 33 designated airports (plus a growing list of seaports). Land at the wrong one — even a domestic connection through it doesn’t count, you must clear immigration there — and entry can be refused.
Every one of the 19 airports covered on this site — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Goa, Kochi, Trivandrum, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Amritsar, and Chandigarh — is on the official designated-entry list. Check our airport guides for terminal and arrival details at any of them.
The full list also includes Bagdogra, Calicut, Coimbatore, Gaya, Kannur, Madurai, Mangalore, Port Blair, Surat, Tiruchirapalli, Varanasi, and Vijayawada. Exit, by contrast, is far more flexible — you can leave from any of 104+ authorized checkpoints, not just the 33 entry airports.
Visa on Arrival — narrower than you might think
Once broadly available, “Visa on Arrival” is now a residual facility for a small set of nationalities only.
Who it’s actually for
Currently Japan, South Korea, and — for a subset of applicants who’ve previously held an Indian e-Visa or regular visa — UAE nationals, at designated airports. Biometrics are captured on arrival.
Everyone else
If you’re not from one of those three, “visa on arrival” doesn’t apply to you — you need to complete your e-Visa (or regular visa) before you fly, not at the airport.
How long can you actually stay?
Multi-entry tourist e-Visas (1-year/5-year) also cap each individual stay — commonly 90 days per visit, extended to 180 days for a handful of nationalities including the US, UK, Canada, and Japan. These specifics change; verify yours on the official portal before planning a multi-trip itinerary. See Long-Term Stay for the full picture on multi-year visas.
Before you fly
The e-Arrival Card
Separate from your visa — every foreign national must file this online within 72 hours of arrival. See Arrival & Immigration.
Print your ETA
Most airlines require a printed copy at check-in, even though the approval itself arrived by email.
Traveling with kids?
Every child needs their own passport and e-Visa — there’s no minor exemption, infants included.
Beware “extra fee” scams
You’ve already paid everything required online. The government explicitly warns against travel agents or airport intermediaries demanding additional payment for your e-Visa.
Official sources
Current designated ports list and e-Visa FAQ.
Bureau of Immigration — policy and entry rules.