India – E-Visa Available for Nationals of U.K., Canada, and Others

India’s government has restored the e-Visa facility for nationals of the United Kingdom¹ and Canada², as well as seven other countries.

The aim is to make India a more attractive business and tourism destination.

The changes made by the government of India represent welcome steps. The restoration of the e-Visa options for U.K. and Canadian nationals will make it easier, more convenient, and faster -- the e-Visa usually takes four working days to process -- for nationals of these countries to obtain a visa (for defined purposes) for entry into India. 

The e-Visa doesn't need any paper-based or appearing-in-person formalities and is accessible via a dedicated website.

India’s e-Visa regime was introduced in 2014.³ Post-introduction, the government of India has been making several amendments to the e-Visa guidelines with an intent to make India a more tourism- and business-friendly destination.

This facility was available to the nationals of 156 countries.  The following five sub-categories of e-Visa are available:

1. e-Business Visa
2. e-Tourist Visa
3. e-Conference Visa
4. e-Medical Visa
5. e-Medical Attendant Visa

Earlier, India’s government had withdrawn the e-Visa facility for nationals of the U.K. and Canada. As noted above, that has now been restored.

The countries whose nationals may avail of the e-Visa are as follows:

Individuals travelling to India for business and tourism purposes – if they are from the aforementioned countries, can apply for the e-Visa.

Therefore, if such individuals, as long as their purpose for coming to India meets the criteria, have a need to come to India with minimal delay and/or are unable to use the customary visa application process, which would require appearing at an embassy or consulate in person and take longer, then applying for the e-Visa would be helpful.

If there are any questions about eligibility and the conditions for applying for the e-Visa, individuals and employers sending employees to India, may wish to consult with their global mobility professional and/or immigration counsel, or a member of the Immigration team with KPMG in India (see the Contact Us section below).

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Please note that at present, having the COVID-19 vaccine or providing a negative test when one travels to India is not mandatory nor is it necessary to quarantine once arriving in India.⁴ However, a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report must be uploaded on the Air Suvidha Portal for travellers from certain high-risk countries such as the People’s Republic of China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Thailand, and Japan.

It is recommended that travellers to India check travel rules for updates, as changes may occur.

1  With respect to the U.K., for the 5 December 2022 announcement, see the Twitter account of Vikram Doraiswami (https://twitter.com/vdoraiswami), the India High Commissioner in the United Kingdom: https://twitter.com/i/status/1599779657347276803 .

2  For more details on the e-Visa for Canadian nationals, see the 21 December 2022 announcement on the Twitter account of the High Commission of India in Ottawa, Canada at: https://twitter.com/HCI_Ottawa/status/1605645556943970304?cxt=HHwWgICjjZCIs8gsAAAA.

3  For additional information on the e-Visa, see:  https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html and  https://www.mha.gov.in/PDF_Other/AnnexIII_01022018.pdf .

4  For recent announcements regarding COVID-19 protocols and requirements for travel to India, see: “Latest Updates” on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website at: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/ . 

* Please note the KPMG International member firm in the United States does not provide immigration or labour law services. However, KPMG Law LLP in Canada can assist clients with U.S. immigration matters.

The information contained in this newsletter was submitted by the KPMG International member firm in India.