India expands e visa entry points to 88, adds Attari land port and Bhopal, Tirupati airports

What has been added

The newly included land ports are Darranga, Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon, Dawki, Moreh, and Attari via road. Bhopal and Tirupati airports have also been brought into the e-visa network.

The e-visa facility does not cover travellers holding Pakistani passports or of Pakistani origin and must apply for a standard visa through an Indian mission abroad.

How the e-visa works

The e-visa currently covers 17 sub-categories of travel, including tourism, business, medical treatment, student visits, mountaineering, cruises, group travel, and transit, among others. The system processes 95% of applications within 72 hours.

What began in 2014 as a facility for nationals of 43 countries has grown substantially; it now covers travellers from 172 countries. E-visas currently account for 78% of all visas issued by India.

The government’s position

The government framed the expansion as part of a broader, ongoing effort to make India easier to visit without loosening the security framework around entry. “Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leadership of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Government of India has taken a number of significant initiatives over the last few years to liberalise, streamline and simplify the visa regime with a view to facilitate the legitimate foreign travellers while simultaneously ramping up the technological infrastructure to enhance internal security,” the official statement said.

(With inputs from PTI)