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Indian e-Business Visa and e-Tourist Visa validity goes up from 60 days to 1 year (365 days)

India is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and harbors many traditional sight-seeing places. There are enough visitors that come to India throughout the year. The government through the ministry of tourism has been strategizing on various efforts to enhance tourism and make it easier for more tourists. One of the ways is through increasing and enhancing the electronic visa application process. This alone almost doubled the number of tourists.

On 18 March 2019 Indian government update India e-Visa new rules on for all eligible countries.

The validity of Indian e-Tourist Visa and Indian e-Business Visa will be 1 year (365 days) from the date of grant of ETA. Multiple entries are permitted on India e-Tourist and India e-Business Visa.

Better still, the government has announced the increase of the validity of the Indian e-Business visa and Indian e-Tourist visa from sixty days to one year with several entries throughout that period.

e-Tourist Visa

This liberalization of the e-visa regime will see India grow economically and increase even foreign investment. The foreigners will be able to make several entries per year as long as they follow the stay regulations and adhere to the registration requirements. According to the ministry of Home Affairs statement, this change will also come with the removal of various restrictions relating to the foreigners.

This circular dated January 22 affirms that one of the restrictions to be removed is the fact that tourists would be allowed a maximum of three entries into India. The ministry of Tourism confirms the progressive growth brought about by the e-visa over the last one year. The statistics reveal that in 2017 from January through November, there were about 1,456,615 tourists and within the same period in 2018, there were 2,061,511 tourists.

That was an estimated 41.5% growth. With the reduced restrictions and more opportunities for foreigners from various parts of the world, the tourism sector can only get better. The General Secretary of the Federations Association from Indian Tourism and Hospitality, Subhash Goyal, stated that this change was something they desired to see come to pass and it will boost regional tourism. This will also position India competitively as more international investors create and run businesses in India. Further, it is possible some multinationals will penetrate the Indian market to sell their commodities.

e-Tourist Visa

While these changes happen, there are specific regulations that govern this change. For example, the continuous stay using the tourist e-visa shall not exceed 90 days per visit for nationals who qualify for Indian e-Visa except for tourists from Japan, Canada, UK or the US. For tourists from the UK, the US, Canada and Japan, the maximum continuous stay allowed is 180 days. In all these scenarios, you do not need to perform any registration. On business e-visa, the permissible continuous stay is 180 days for all nationals eligible for the e-visa.

If the stay remains within the stipulation and visa requirement of less than 180 days, then no registration is required.

Well, this is a fantastic move and you should take advantage of it. With the way things are progressing, over time the visa application charges will reduce. With affordable services, many people will be encouraged to travel to India. Now you have no reason not to do business in India or travel to see friends or family, or even plan a vacation to India.

 

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