Probably the first thing that comes to your mind while reading this, is why would anyone go to all the trouble to get an Indian tourist visa while a tourist Evisa or e-Tourist visa is an easy peasy?
There are 5-year Evisas, 1-year Evisas, 90-day Evisas, and now 10-year Evisas for tourism. My own parents got Indian Online Evisa when they accompanied me.
The answer is simple: The Evisa or e-Tourist visa for India has limitations.
But before we jump into the technicalities, let me tell you a bit about what to see and do in India.
What to Do in India
Here is the thing: India is huge. Home to some of the tallest mountains, beautiful beaches, ancient temples, deserts, national parks- it’s truly a traveler’s paradise.
The Taj Mahal, the Golden temple of Amritsar, Jaipur, Delhi and Rishikesh are some of the most visited tourist destinations in north India.
North India is popular for its hill stations and treks as well. If you are interested in treks, here are some of the best treks in India. If you are interested in forts, here are the best forts of Rajasthan.
If you want to venture south, Kerala is a must-stop, owing to its natural beauty and beaches. Auroville, a universal city with an international community, and Pondicherry, a former French colony are two other popular destinations in South India.
If Pondicherry is on your bucket list, then here is a list of all the things to do in Pondicherry.
Table of Contents
India Tourist Visa vs India Online eVisa
- For any long-term Evisa, you need to leave India every 3 months and reenter.
- You can’t convert an Indian eVisa to any other visa. So let’s say you find a job or want to study or something else, you would need to leave India and get one of those proper visas outside.
I have heard stories of people who did it with help from Immigration lawyers and such, but I wouldn’t recommend this route.
As per me, the second reason mattered a lot more. My Indian boyfriend and I had plans to get married after I would come to India.
We planned to stay in India for a long time which needed me to convert my tourist visa to an Indian X visa for spouse. And, later I converted it to an OCI card as well.
And, no matter how you are entering India, you would need to fill in the Air Suvidha form.
So I went to the embassy of India in Bogota, Colombia while I was there and got my India tourist visa there. The process is more or less the same irrespective of your country, although they might ask for a few more documents.
Most of the Indian consulates in different countries offer walk-in appointments, although some consulates have authorized a third-party agency to manage the whole process.
Things to Know before India Visa Application
Do You Need Insurance for India Visitor’s Visa?
The fact is some countries need you to have insurance for tourist visa applications. For example, if you need a tourist visa for Turkey or a Schengen visitor’s visa, you would need to get insurance.
India visa application doesn’t specifically need you to submit insurance proof. However, I recommend everyone to have travel insurance in India.
I recommend Saftey Wing which covers your medical expenses in case of hospitalization and a bunch of other things like when you lose your passport in a foreign country or in case of trip interruption.
India Visa Application for US citizen
Note – If you are applying for a visitor visa to India from USA, you can do it through VFS Global only. The Indian embassies in USA don’t accept any applications directly.
Tourist Visa for India from UK
If you are in the UK, pre-Covid you could walk in but now, it is not allowed. They have outsourced the document collection to VFS Global UK, and you can schedule an appointment with them.
India Visa processing time in UK takes about 10-15 days.
So you can apply Indian visa online in UK.
Application for Indian Visa for Australian Citizens
Citizens of Australia can apply for Indian visas through VFS Global Australia.
Apply Visa for India When You are Sure
The reason I say when you are sure is that the India tourist visa is valid from the day it’s issued. So if you get a visa before you know when you can travel, you would start losing days. The visa processing rarely takes more than 15 days. I got mine in a week.
Here is how to apply for India tourist visa through an embassy, and the list of documents you would need.
Document Checklist for Indian Tourist Visa
The list of documents for an Indian tourist visa are pretty standard actually.
Valid passport
You passport valid for a year at least with at least three continuous blank pages. The six months passport validity rule doesn’t hold because the visa is issued for one year.
Bank Statements for Visa Application for India
Your bank statements should have a minimum balance of $ 6,000,000 COP / 2000 USDs approx.
I showed the bank statements for the last 3 months with a balance of $ 10,000,000 COP. I simply took the PDF statements from the bank and showed them. There was no need to notarize it or get any official bank statements. It’s always a good idea to have more than the minimum required amount.
In case, your spouse/parents will be responsible for your expenses, a notarized letter stating responsibility for trip expenses along with the copy of the birth registration or marriage certificate.
Round trip Flight reservation for Visa or Confirmed Tickets
It doesn’t have to be a confirmed flight. You can make a reservation in an airline and present that ticket. As my plans were confirmed, I had bought a flight ticket on Turkish Airlines.
But I would recommend you to simply make a reservation or buy a ticket on Expedia or Orbitz, and then cancel it. That way you can have a flight reservation for free. For my return ticket to Bogota, I showed a reservation from Turkish airlines 5 months after my date of arrival.
International Yellow Fever vaccination certificate
In Colombia, you can get it easily in a public hospital for free.
India visa application form
You need to fill the visa application form for India online and then take a printout of the same, and carry it for your visa appointment.
Indian Visa Photo Requirements
The photo size for the Indian visa is 2 cm X 2 cm. It must be a color passport pic in white background. In case your pic doesn’t work, you can get your photo taken in a studio right across the consulate.
Signed Consent
A signed consent form is something specific to regular Indian visa applications that you need to print out from the website of the Indian embassy in Bogota and sign, and submit with your application.
Fill in the Indian Tourist Visa Application Form Online
You need to fill in the application form for India tourist visa on the official website : https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/Registration.
The visa application form is quite long and detailed. So don’t hurry.
Once you fill in the details and click on ‘continue’ button, you would see a Temporary Application ID on the next page. Note this ID. In case, you can’t complete the form or any other issue comes up, you can use this ID to complete it.
Things to note
- Port of entry and exit for India- Make sure this matches the flight reservations you have provided.
- Duration of visa and no. of entries – You can choose maximum up to 6 months. Make sure to choose multiple entries.
- Photo to upload – It should be min 10 KB and max 1 MB, and in JPEG format. It should be a recent front-facing photograph with a white background.
After you complete the visa application form, you can download it and print it out. Make sure that you carry it with you when you go to the embassy.
Submit Documents at Indian Embassy and Pay
The best part is that there is no need to make payments before you submit the documents for the Indian visa application for tourism. They ask you to pay once they revise all your documents.
I went to the embassy in the early morning. The embassy receives visa applications from 8.30 am to 12 pm.
There were like 10 or so people waiting in the lobby. There was a guy by the main door who I explained the purpose of my visit to and handed him the documents. He then asked me to wait.
Address and Contact Info of Indian Embassy in Colombia
Embajada de la India
Calle 116 # 7-15 Int.2. Of.301 Torre Cusezar, Santa Bárbara de Bogotá
pcc.bogota@mea.gov.in,
Consular.bogota@mea.gov.in, visa.bogota@mea.gov.in
(+571 6373259, 6373451)
Afterwards, I waited in the lobby. It took 30 minutes or so before I was called to the reception. The receptionist thoroughly examined all my docs and told me that my photo wasn’t as per the specifications.
My face ate up like 90% of the photo while it should have been 70-80%. Not really the news I was expecting for.
So, I rushed to a studio right across the street and got a new photo taken. Then I darted to a cyber cafe and filled in a new application form coz’ the application form had my previous photo. I got the printout and came back to show it in the embassy.
Once they were satisfied, they gave me a slip along with the payment details. I went to the Banco Itau to make the payment for the visa. Following that, I came back with the original deposit slip and submitted it along with the other documents.
After the payment, I received a receipt with my passport number. Make sure not to lose it.
Receive the Indian Tourist Visa
The embassy called me to inform after 4 days that my visa has been granted and I could collect the passport any time from 2-3 pm. I went to the embassy the same day and received my passport with the Indian tourist visa sticker.
Note** To return Passport outside Bogotá in Colombian territory Applicants can deposit additional $ 20,000 pesos and make a note with the address (including ZIP code www.codigopostal.gov.co) to which Applicants want to get their passport back.
Indian tourist visa processing time : 1 week
Visa validity: From the day of issuance
Visa duration : One year but you need to leave after six months and re-enter India
Visa cost : 340,000 Pesos or 103$
Note – You need to leave India 180 days after you arrive there and re-enter.
Go for an Indian Buffet
Now that your India trip is on the horizon, it’s time to go to your favorite Indian restaurant and have some Indian food. The Taj Mahal restaurant in Bogota is my fave Indian restaurant and they have an amazing buffet Monday to Friday.
So, I and my family went there and ate to our heart’s content.
Note for Ecuadorian Citizens Applying Indian Tourist Visa in Colombia
Citizens of Ecuador can apply for India tourist visa by sending in all the documents along with the passport to the Indian embassy through DHL and opt to collect their passport through DHL as well.
Make sure to pay at Banco Pichincha and send the original deposit slip along with the documents.
Indian Embassy Account at Pichincha Bank
Bank’sName: Banco Pichincha C.A.
Accountholder’sname: Embajada de la India, Bogota
Account type: Current account
Account No. 3460152804
The Visa Project’s Comprehensive Visa Series: Guides & Experiences
Visa requirements are always changing. Here on The Visa Project, they are kept up-to-date and should answer most visa questions.
And not just guides and tips, we also rely on real people’s experiences on visas, coz’ we know how much visas change based on your nationality, financial status, age, ethnicity, etc.
In the South Asia Visa Series: Experiences
- India X Visa: How to Get India Spouse Visa in FRRO
- Indian Visa Extension: How to Extend Indian Visa in FRRO
- India e Visa
- Nepal Visa on Arrival
- Srilanka eVisa Online
Did you ever get an India tourist visa?
If you ever had to apply for India tourist visa, let us know in the comments. The visa process is constantly changing and it will help me update the article if there is any change. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have and share if you think it’s useful.
Disclaimer: This article may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclaimer policy here. The Visa Project would by no means be liable for any purchase of tours, tickets, and any other online reservations that are made with any third-party provider.
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Great ! I would like to point out something. Can you explain the limitation of getting an Indian tourist visa? Sometimes we all keep in mind only beneficial things not limitation.
Hi Luz, in my opinion the e-visa might has some limitations. The tourist visa gives you more flexibility.
Wow that’s quite a lot of work to get that visa isn’t it? But glad that you did it as you obviously needed it. Love that you went for a big Indian feast after! I would too. All the best with the wedding!
Very nice and informative article! Trying to obtain a visa always gives me a headache. Personally I would be mostly looking to point number 6 🙂
Very helpful article for obtaining visa to India as tourists. This should help travel of international tourists very easy. I especially liked the step by step approach to this. And how and why each step is important.
Hi Indrani, thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comment.
Being an Indian, its quite amusing for me to read about Indian tourist visa! I’ve never given a thought about it at all! Interesting to know about the various steps and the restrictions about going out & coming back in 3 months!
India is surely on my bucket list. And I understand, why you got a tourist visa rather than an evisa which would have been faster. Did you get the spouse visa after you got married? Hope you are having a good time in India. I liked the roundtrip ticket tip you mentioned, as well as the length it usually takes to hear back. The worst thing about traveling is waiting to hear about your visa.
Hi Joe,Nice to know that India is on your bucket list. I am having a good time in India. It’s a country that’s so unique and interesting. I did get a spouse visa after getting married. I will be posting that article later.
Such a detailed guide on getting an Indian visa. It’s good to know that visitors need to leave India every 3 months if they’re on long term Evisa. Thanks for your tips on Roundtrip Flight reservation as well. I’d love to visit India with my boyfriend, so your post is very useful.Hope your wedding went well.
Thanks Ha. Yes, my wedding went well.
I guess I am lucky I never had to go to an embassy to get a visa, but I can see why this is better than a e-visa. Still seems like a complicated process ( or least for me, cause I am lazy and I hate bureaucracy). So thank you for making it easier to understand!
Glad that it helped you.
This is such helpful Guide to obtain Indian tourist visa from any Indian Embassy. India gives e-visa to many counties which eases visa hassles.
It’s true that e-visa is much easier to get. The problems arise when if you want to stay longer or convert it.
Thank you for sharing all this useful information with us. India has been on my list for a long time. But because it is such a big country, I have never decided where to go first. I would try Ladakh to see the Himalayan views but in the same time, I would go to the south in Goa too. Is it easy to extend your visa for more than three months in case you want to stay longer?
Hi Luliana, thanks for stopping by. If you get the one year visa, you get 6 months at a time. After that you need to leave and reenter India. After that you can extend your visa if needed.
Thank you for sharing all this useful information with us. India has been on my list for a long time. But because it is such a big country, I have never decided where to go first. I would try Laddakh to see the Himalayan views but in the same time, I would go to the south in Goa too. Is it easy to extend your visa for more than three months in case you want to stay longer?
Hello,firstly belated hearty greetings for your marriage and i wish you a very happy n prosperpus life ahead.Thank you for such an informative n detailed post.
Allow me to introduce myself ,i am an Indian citizen,40 years medical doctor by profession ,i m in deep love with an iranian female 38 years(never been married) since almost a decade.i m planning to marry her in India soon after covid restrictions are lifted,forgive my ignorance ,frankly speaking i have never been out of India before n pretty much newbie in such matters.
After going through Indian embassy in iran website i came to know that ,visa upto max SIX months can b issued and multiple entries can b considered DEPENDING on itinerary .my main concern is only that she get 6 months visa successfully.while filling application ,site ask for the name of places u wanna visit etc,so i have few queries,i will owe u a life time for the guidance.
1)being a 38 years unmarried lone female traveller,shall she apply for 3 months or 6 months that chances of visa rejections r prevented?
2)what places u mentioned u planning to visit while in India in application?
i was wandering does she need to write 3 or 6 months detailed DAILY travel plan with name of places along with proof of train or domestic flight resevations inter city while in India, or just reservation of return flight back to her homeland after 5 or 6 months will do ?
3)Did ur husband to be back then sent a letter of invitation or its a bad idea and simply as an independent traveller will do?
Thanx
Hi Rayees,
Thanks for stopping by, and thank you for your kind words.
1) I don’t think her marital status or age would really be an issue in her getting a 6-months visa. Usually Indian embassies are helpful and not too strict.
2)I mentioned the usual tourist spots like Jaipur, Delhi, Amritsar, Rishikesh, Udayapur etc. in North India. No need for daily travel plan or proof of train/flight reservations. Simply mentioning the places will do the job.If they ask, she can explain that she will plan after arriving in India. Yes, a return ticket/reservation back to her homeland after 6 months will be fine.
3) No, he didn’t send any invitation letter. She can apply independently.
Note that my visa was issued with a duration of 1 year, multiple entries although it needed me to leave India after 6 months, and reenter.
Hi Claudia,
Thanx for the detailed reply, u are a wonderful human being.Actually that second part of the sentence on Indian embassy website caught my mind stating, ” single entry visa upto six months can be issued, ,multiple entries can be considered depending on the itinerary.”
I work as an associate in cardiology department in Andhra pradesh.In case if i cud b of some help ,i will b delighted.
I thanx Mr.Deb Pati also for taking this guidance initiative.
Thank you Rayees. Glad that we could help you. You are a kind human being yourself, I believe. Hope your beloved makes it to India.
Hello Claudia,
Thanx again,going through Indian visa application form i came across this part where they ask you about ,have you booked any hotel or something & I guess same might be asked at immigration at the airport.plz give ur suggestion regarding it. Merci
Hi Rayees,
Yes, proof of accommodation is needed for the visa application. Your girlfriend can do a refundable reservation in a hotel for a week or two for this, and carry the printout with her when she travels. She can show this in immigration in case they ask.
Hi Claudia,
Thanx alot.Happy Diwali to you and your family.
Happy diwali to you and your family Rayees.
Can I get your email address, please?
Hi Deep,
We prefer the queries about the article to be posted as comments so that they will be public and everyone can benefit. But if you have anything really personal or any other queries, you can use the contact us page to send us an email.
Hi Claudia, All the information you posted is very helpful.
My question was…I am planning to get married in India to my foreign partner next year around may….So which visa i should tell her to apply for while coming to India??
I will later convert it into a spouse visa once she is here.
Hi Taher,
If she can come on a long-term tourist visa, that’s the best. If not, a student visa is not that hard to get.
Hi… this was reassuring … I am a long time many times India traveller but have not been back since August 2018 and wondered if and how things had changed. I DO want to spend 6 months in India… So.. from what I glean (I am Australian so I will go through vfsglobal in Sydney as I have always done before) I can now get a ONE YEAR validity with 180 days at a time duration.. right? That suits me perfectly as I don’t want to lose days once I have the visa (i.e. I want the whole 180 days and with this 1 year validity that becomes easy)….
Sounds right? Of course if I were able to get a FIVE year validity I will go for that.. not sure that is possible or even exists for Australians???
thanks again
Hi Paul,
You can get a 5-year eVisa for tourism as an Australian. The 1 year tourist visa is also available.
Hi Claudia,
Thanks for the article, very well written.
Now I have a situation (maybe you van help me)
I am Colombian and I have a US citizenship.
I applied for the tourist e-visa online twice and got “rejected” both times.
I am planning to go to Bogota this week, to the Embassy of India and apply there in person.
Is this viable? Here in the US, the process is by mail and through a third party provider (It takes at least 15 days that I don’t have)
Thanks for your input.
Hi Luz,
Thanks for the kind words.
Any idea why it got rejected? It is very unusual.
You can surely apply in Bogota with your Colombian passport. You should get it in a very short time, usually a week max.
All the best.
Hello, sorry to bother you, but you wrote that the visa application form is quite long and detailed. I was wondering what kind of questions are there in the online form, just so I can be prepared before starting. I hope you can reply. Thanks in forward!
Hi Claudia, A great helpful article, thank you so much, I have few queries as below
1) My Fiancé is from Ukraine and we are planning to marry in November 2023, so should she apply Normal tourist visa or E-Visa for 90 days/1 year with multiple entry , can she change it to X-visa and OCI later ?
2) She is working online with an American company and after getting married can she continue working with the same company from India online?
3) For long term E -visa she needs to leave India every 3 months?
4) As I read, you suggested for normal tourist visa from Indian Embassy, she is staying in Manchester , UK, so she should visit the embassy or what is the procedure post Covid? ( in case we decide for normal tourist visa)