The business of travel made easier

A visa strategist gives some crucial updates on recent changes to the visa regime for travellers to India. There have been some important changes to the e-TV and business visa regime that are worthy of note. These changes, which became effective from April 1 this year, are expected to stimulate economic growth, increase earnings from export of services like tourism, medical value travel and travel on account of business and to make 'Skill India', 'Digital India', 'Make in India' and other such flagship initiatives of the Indian government successful and make it considerably easier for the travel of foreigners to India for the above-mentioned purposes. As a recap, an e-TV is a single entry 30 day visa that can be used for tourist visits, meeting family and friends, medical tourism or casual business visits. It can only be applied for online twice in any one year from a minimum of 4 days in advance of the date of arrival with a window of 30 days. After about 4-5 days, the applicant receives an e-mail confirming their visa which they need to print out and take to India, where upon they will be issued with a Tourist Visa on Arrival at passport control. Changes to the e-TV Regime:

• The e-TV has now been sub-divided into 3 categories: e-tourist visa, e-business visa and e-medical visa. This distinction will be apparent from the online application form.
• The e-TV has been extended for entry through an additional 8 airports to 24 airports (e. Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum & Varanasi) and 3 designated seaports(i.e. Cochin, Goa, Mangalore).
• The window for application under e-TV scheme has been increased from 30 days to 120 days.
• The duration of stay on an e-TV has been increased from 30 days to 60 days
• Double entry on e-tourist and e-business visas and triple entry on e-medical visa are now permitted. Previously, only single entry was permitted.
• As before, one can apply twice in any one year for an e-TV.
• Separate immigration counters and facilitation desks to assist medical tourists have been provided at airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

• Multiple-entry tourist and business visas for a period of 5 years will now be available to UK nationals. Upon urgent requests, business visa will be granted within 48 hours of application.
• 5-year long-term tourist and business visas will require bio-metric enrolment at the time of submission of the application. This became effective from 1 March 2017.

• A new category of visa titled Intern (I) Visa has been rolled out with effect from 1 March 2017 to a foreigner intending to pursue an internship at an Indian company, educational institutions and NGOs, subject to certain checks and conditions. The period of the visa is restricted to the duration of the internship programme or one year, whichever is less. The Intern Visa will be granted immediately after completion of graduation/post-graduation. Internship in NGOs or internship involving visits to protected and restricted areas will only be issued with prior clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Another new category of visa, titled Film (F) Visa has also been introduced with a maximum duration of one year with multiple entry facility.