India has added Qatar to the list of countries eligible for e-visa facility, currently availed by passport holders of 167 countries/territories. This facility is in addition to the existing Visa services provided by the Embassy of India, Doha.
e-Visas are issued on the basis of an online application and do not require the application to be submitted physically at the Embassy or a visa-sticker to be affixed on the passport by the Embassy. The approval for the visa, called the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), is sent to the applicant by email. The applicant should carry a copy of this ETA along with him/her at the time of travel. Applicants can track the status of their application online at https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html.
On the basis of a valid ETA, a "visa" will be stamped on the visitor's passport at the Immigration Counter at the airport of arrival. Biometric details of the applicant will be mandatorily captured at Immigration on arrival in India.
It needs to be noted that this facility is not the same as Visa-on-Arrival, as the entry into India is subject to prior clearance in the form of the ETA. Travellers who arrive in India without the ETA will not be allowed entry under this facility.
The following are the key points to note about the e-Visa facility:
1. Travellers eligible for this facility are those whose sole objective of visiting India is recreation , sight-seeing , casual visit to meet friends or relatives, short duration medical treatment or casual business visit. Other categories of travellers should continue to approach the Embassy of India for issuance of a suitable visa.
2. The traveller's passport should have at least six months validity from the date of arrival in India. The passport should have at least two blank pages for stamping by the Immigration Officer.
3. The traveller should have a return ticket or onward journey ticket, with sufficient money to spend during his/her stay in India.
4. The e-Visa facility is not available to individuals endorsed on their Parent's/Spouse's Passport i.e. each individual should have a separate passport.
5. The facility is not available to International Travel Document Holders.
6. e-Visa has 3 sub-categories i.e., e-Tourist visa, e-Business Visa and e-Medical visa. The validity of an e-Visa will be 60 days from the date of arrival in India. Double entry is permitted on e-Tourist Visa and e-Business Visa. Triple entry will be permitted on e-Medical Visa.
7. Applicants can choose their 60-day travel period, within a 120-day window available on the website. However, they would need to apply online a minimum of 4 days in advance of the date of arrival, to ensure time for clearance. (For example: If you are applying on 1st August, then you can select any arrival date from 5th August to 1st December.)
8. e-Visa can be availed for maximum of two times in a calendar year i.e. between January to December.
9. e-Visa is valid for entry through 25 designated Airports (Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Varanasi & Vishakhapatnam) and 5 designated seaports (i.e. Cochin, Goa, Mangalore, Mumbai, Chennai). However, the foreigner can exit from any of the authorized Immigration Check Posts (ICPs) in India.
10. e-Visa is non-extendable, non-convertible & is not valid for visiting Protected/Restricted and Cantonment Areas. If you intend to visit Protected/Restricted/Cantonment areas, you would require prior permission from the Civil Authority concerned.
11. Visit https://indianvisaonline.gov.in for further details.
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