How long in advance do I need to apply for my visa to India? My boyfriend and I are planning to go there in April. Also, how long does it take to obtain it?
I am not sure how far in advance you can apply for a visa on arrival online but I did read in a few threads that you need to apply atleast a week in advance or you would risk getting delayed response and if you dont have an approval at the time of landing then you would be sent back to where ever you came from. Have a look at the visa on arrival procedure.
Hello, @Kristie! Welcome to the forum! There are two types of Indian tourist visas you can apply for: The first one is the e-Tourist Visa (eTV) or also called as Visa on Arrival. You can apply for the Indian visa 34 days before your scheduled arrival on the country. You can also apply as late as 4 days prior to your arrival in India. You must carry your ETA with you once you go to the country. You also cannot visit restricted areas with this visa. Aside from that, it's non-extendable nor convertible. It's only valid for 30 days, counting the time of your arrival in the airport. The second one is the traditional tourist Indian visa. For this type of visa, you can apply even for several months prior to your arrival in India. In order to qualify for this visa, you cannot be of Indian origin, a spouse or child of a person of Indian origin, nor have an occupation or residence in India. US citizens are eligible for different validities of visa: from 6 months, to 5 years and up to 10 years. For the other non US citizens, they're only eligible for the 6 months Indian tourist visa. The validity of the visa starts from the day it was issued. The online visa application or e-Tourist Visa is typically approved within three business days. The traditional tourist Indian visa is a lengthy process and can take a longer time though. Anyway, since you were asking about the online visa application, here are some more other information about it. The e-Tourist Visa or Visa on Arrival is only available in these airports: Bengaluru (Bangalore), Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Trivandrum. If you're arriving by any other airports, you have to apply for the traditional Indian tourist visa. You also have some restrictions with this visa: You can only stay for 30 days counting the day of your arrival in the country. You cannot visit restricted, protected and cantonment areas. You can only apply for the e-Tourist Visa maximum of two times in a calendar year. Requirements are the following: Scanned copy of the passport, valid for 6 months or more and has blank pages for stamps. Bring your passport on your arrival in India as well. Scanned photograph, passport sized, should have plain or white background. Bring your round trip ticket on arrival in the country. Bring your ETA, printed from your email as well. I hope this helps!
