I had decided to spend my 20 days vacation this time in India and soak in the culture. I wanted to visit Delhi, Goa and Kerala in my trip but the pandemic put a stop to my dreams back then. But since November 2021, it is again possible to apply for India e-Tourist visa for UK citizens, albeit with new and updated rules for safety during the pandemic.
This article is going to go in detail on how to get your India visa as a UK national including visa fees, requirement & changes post COVID-19 reopening.
Apply for India Visa Online
India government as waived off India visa fee for the first 500,000 applications. Apply now to get your India visa at just processing fee cost of $25 with us.
We also take care of procuring your mandatory self declaration form for all foreigners visiting India.
Note: The duration of stay will be limited to 30 till Feb 2022.
United Kingdom (UK) citizens have always been fond of visiting India, particularly as tourists and since 2014 have been the number one nationality of foreign tourists who visit India. They have occupied the top spot since 2015 with over 500,000 applications every year (15.6%) of the total visitors to India.
It is now mandatory to get COVID related travel insurance for visa application. Get your travel insurance at just $1 per day with visitorscoverage.com
What are the different types of India visa available for UK Citizens ?
India has 2 types of visa which you can apply as a UK passport holder.
Regular visa, (passport sticker visa) which you have to get at the Indian embassy. The main benefit of this Indian visa is that it is valid for up to 10 years and it costs about $100. So, you need to get an appointment before you can approach the embassy for this visa. This is still not available after the pandemic.
India e visa can be obtained online by visiting either the government website or by using an online Indian visa agent . As of Nov 2021 only 30 days single entry visa has been opened.
If you are like me who would rather not spend 3 hours of your life filling forms don’t mind getting it done by a travel agent then you can get your Indian visa done via Travelvisabookings.com.
Apply for India Visa Online
India government as waived off India visa fee for the first 500,000 applications. Apply now to get your India visa at just processing fee cost of $25 with us.
We also take care of procuring your mandatory self declaration form for all foreigners visiting India.
Note: The duration of stay will be limited to 30 till Feb 2022.
Types of Indian E-Tourist visa for UK Citizens
Generally, there would be many types of India visa to suit every need and requirement. But since COVID has it the number of visas available to the tourists has been limited to just 1 type. Only 30 days single entry visa can be applied.
Also note that you must have filled a self declaration form before you enter India and need to be submitted. Also vaccination certificate will be needed.
30 days India tourist visa, this is applicable for UK citizens who is visiting India for a short duration of 30 days Single entry. Which means you can exit & enter India once. Once your visa is approved you will need to make use of this visa within 120 days. Check your visa approval copy to know the exact expiry date of your visa.
60 days India tourist visa, this is applicable for UK citizens who is visiting India for a short duration of 30 days Double entry. Which means you can exit & enter India twice. This is not yet available as of Nov 2021 for UK citizens
1 year India tourist e-visa, this is for anyone one who want to explore the whole country or in general stay for one full year. This is not yet available as of Nov 2021 for UK citizens
5 years tourist e-visa gives you 5 years of validity and it is multiple entry visa. With this visa you can stay for a maximum period of 90 days at a time as long as your visa is valid. The stay period is extended to 180 days for UK passport holders.
Requirements for UK citizens to apply for India Tourist Visa
The documentation for India visa is fairly simple. But do note that there are over 300 columns to fill & if you make a mistake you will not be able to re-apply . You need to not only fill your details, but also the details such as work, employment address and details of your spouse, parents and contacts in India.
So proceed with caution. And ensure you double check your visa application.
Documents needed for India e-Tourist visa are:
- Passport front and back scanned copy.
- A passport size photo soft copy in a white background
- Parents (both mom and dad) information
- Spouse’s information
- Port of entry in India
- Work related information
- A valid COVID Insurance. (You can apply below)
It is now mandatory to get COVID related travel insurance for visa application. Get your travel insurance at just $1 per day with visitorscoverage.com
Image specifications are really strict so follow the below guideline for India visa photo specification
Here are all the visa requirements travelers need to know about before apply for Indian visa. Moreover, it is also an opportunity for the visitors who are requiring an e-visa India they can get a visa by fulfilling an Indian visa application.
How much does it cost the UK citizens for Indian E-Tourist Visa?
The regular,India Visa fees for UK Citizens are mentioned below. But as mentioned earlier, Indian government has announced free visa for the first 500,000 applicants, so you can apply for your India visa with us at get it just at processing fee cost of $25 !!.
Also note that as of Nov 2021, only e-Tourist visa of 30 days can be applied. Others are not available due to COVID
| India visa Type | Fee for India visa | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| e-Tourist Visa 30 Days | $25 (£20) | 30 Days – Double Entry |
| e-Tourist Visa 1 Year | $40 (£32) | 365 Days – Multiple Entry |
| e-Business Visa | $100 (£78) | 365 Days – Multiple Entry |
| e-Conference Visa | $100 (£78) | 30 Days – Single Entry |
| e-Medical Visa | $100 (£78) | 60 Days – Triple Entry |
| e-Medical Attendant Visa | $100 (£78) | 60 Days – Triple Entry |
India E-Tourist visa fee for UK citizens is $25 (£20). Banks charge an additional 2.5% of the above amount as their service charge. If you sought the service of a travel agent, then expect to pay anywhere between £10 to £20 extra as a service fee.
Looking for a PDF of the application? Visit Natvisa for a sample of the eVisa application.
What is the processing time for India visa ?
Generally the processing time is 72 hours & you cannot apply for a visa less than 48 hours of your travel. Usually, it is a good idea to apply for India visa within 15 days of your travel. If you are really paranoid, you can apply for your visa upto 120 days before your travel but we would not recommend this due to the current pandemic situation. If India decides to close it’s borders again, then you will be left stranded.
Is visa on Arrival available for UK Citizens to visit India ?
No, visa on arrival has been stopped for all nationals due to COVID. You need to get a pre-authorised visa before entering India . Also note that you will need to fill out a self declaration form before you enter the country.
Apply for India Visa Online
India government as waived off India visa fee for the first 500,000 applications. Apply now to get your India visa at just processing fee cost of $25 with us.
We also take care of procuring your mandatory self declaration form for all foreigners visiting India.
Note: The duration of stay will be limited to 30 till Feb 2022.
Do UK citizens need a visa for travel to India?
All foreign nationals visiting India must possess a valid travel document (Visa) for entry and exit from India. India offers visas based on the purpose of your visa, you should be careful while choosing your visa. Having an inappropriate visa may lead to denial of entry to India.
How to get a secured Travel Insurance for a Trip?
The search for your trip protection ends here. Get your travel insurance now for coverage on unforeseen incidents like loss of baggage, flight cancellations, accidents etc.
It is now mandatory to get COVID related travel insurance for visa application. Get your travel insurance at just $1 per day with visitorscoverage.com
Beware of fake India Visa agents and scammers
Online scams have started thriving in the past few years. Lately, this menace has spread to the visa processing sector too. In fact, we have seen a lot of fake India visa agents who offer visa services at very high costs with the claim that they will get your visa approved in a day.
You need to keep in mind that India Visa UK are issued by the government of India and it is clearly given in the official website that it takes a minimum of 2 days for approval.
Also, you will find many websites online which are “designed” to trick you into applying for a visa with them ($300 for an “express” visa ?). Be wary of these websites.
Ideally, with most agents, you will need to make an initial payment of anywhere between $3 and once you are given the confirmation that your visa is being applied, only then make the full and final payment.
Be very careful with these websites and agents, you do not want to end up being a scam victim.
Be very careful when you deal with any other websites before you give an advance. It is advisable to talk with the agent and clear all your doubts and queries before initiating a payment.
Applying for India E-Tourist visa:
There are basically two ways to apply for an India E-Tourist visa. One is to apply through the official website of Indian government which of course is a hideous task as there are lots of issues with the India Visa website and the payment portal.
The other way, which we recommend is to apply through a reliable India visa processing agent who will take care of your visa processing at a minimal cost.
Can you recommend any reliable visa processing agents?
The agent we would recommend is Travelvisabookings.com because they have a workforce of dedicated and experienced visa agents. We had to pay just $25 to begin the process and once we got the visa, we had to pay them the full amount. Also, they accept payment via Paypal which is safer since you are protected by PayPal for any fraudulent transactions.
Applying for India E-Tourist visa for UK citizens with an agent?
Visit Travelvisabookings.com (click the link to open in a new tab). Follow the simple guides given below.
- Select “Apply for India Visa”.
- Fill in the form and click submit.
You will have to make a payment of $3 initially. Once you submit the form an expert from the agency will call you within 2 hours will be assigned to you to take your visa process further. They speak good English as well so you will not have any problem.
If you are satisfied with them and make a payment they will start applying on your behalf ASAP. Once your visa is approved they will contact you with a Visa ID which you can verify from the official website and make full payment to get your visa.
Problems with the Indian E-Visa website
Introduction of E-Visa was supposed to make the whole process a lot easier. The poor planning and implementation of the website make it one of the most unreliable and abysmal systems one can find on the internet. There are 2 major issues with the website.
- Payment Portal Crashing
The payment portal is very unreliable because it may crash anytime unexpectedly. Apart from the unreliability Indian government does not plan on making things easier for you. Only 3 attempts are permitted to make a successful payment. Failure to make a successful payment in 3 attempts will result in blocking of your application ID.
Click here to know about the Indian e-visa payment and website problems
The SBI (state bank of India) bank’s ePay solution is ill-equipped to accept cards from international customers. Furthermore, this complaint is persistent even on their internet banking solution that they offer.
2. Website crashing
Another problem with the portal is the unreliability of the main website. The website where you have to fill in the application form and generate an application ID may crash anytime. The most annoying one would be when you are almost at the end and the site going unresponsive when you click submit.
Therefore, the only solution to this is to have a lot of patience or hire a visa agent who can get the job done for you. You can avail their service to get your visa without any trouble because these visa agents have so much of experience in this field and they keep monitoring the situation on a frequent basis.
Can I enter anywhere in India once my E-Visa is granted?
Persons holding e-Visa are allowed to enter into India only through the designated international airports namely, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Trivandrum, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin, Goa, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Gaya , Jaipur, Lucknow, Trichy, Varanasi, Calicut, Mangalore, Pune, Nagpur, Coimbatore, Bagdogra, Guwahati, Chandigarh & Visakhapatnam.
Further, e-visa facility is also provided for entry at 5 major Indian seaports namely, Mumbai, Cochin, Mormugao, Chennai & New Mangalore for cruise tourists.Persons holding e-Visa can depart from any of the authorised Immigration Check Posts in India.