India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has confirmed that its popular e-Visa platform will be expanded to cover travellers from 25 additional countries beginning 15 August 2026. The new cohort—largely drawn from Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe—includes Kenya, Colombia, Serbia, Ecuador, Tanzania and Guatemala. Citizens of these nations will be able to apply online for 30-day, one-year and five-year tourist or business e-Visas without visiting an Indian mission. Officials told Reuters that the move is aimed at doubling annual e-Visa issuances from 1.8 million in 2025 to over 3 million by the end of 2026.
Processing times will remain three-to-five working days, and fees are unchanged at US $25 for a 30-day permit or US $80 for the multiple-entry business variant.
![India to open e-Visa scheme to 25 more countries from 15 August]()
If applicants or corporate mobility teams prefer a guided process, VisaHQ’s dedicated India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can handle end-to-end e-Visa submissions, flag common documentation errors and provide live status tracking—streamlining compliance for both individual tourists and businesses moving staff at short notice.
Pakistan and China remain excluded and must continue to use the traditional paper-visa channel, reflecting ongoing security and reciprocity concerns. For companies moving staff into India, the broader e-Visa net removes a logistical hurdle: HR teams can now deploy short-term project specialists from newly eligible countries without coordinating appointment slots at over-stretched consulates. Travel managers should still advise assignees to carry a print-out of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and a return or onward ticket, as immigration officers routinely request them. The government will publish the final country list on 20 July and open the application window on 1 August, giving global mobility teams three weeks to update policy documents and intranet guidance. Officials indicated that another 10 African states could join the scheme by December if the roll-out is smooth, signalling that India sees streamlined entry as a lever to boost inbound FDI and post-G20 tourism targets. Practical tip: remind travellers to use only the official portal (indianvisaonline.gov.in). Private intermediaries continue to charge mark-ups and have no influence over approvals—a common pain-point for first-time visitors.
Processing times will remain three-to-five working days, and fees are unchanged at US $25 for a 30-day permit or US $80 for the multiple-entry business variant.
If applicants or corporate mobility teams prefer a guided process, VisaHQ’s dedicated India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can handle end-to-end e-Visa submissions, flag common documentation errors and provide live status tracking—streamlining compliance for both individual tourists and businesses moving staff at short notice.
Pakistan and China remain excluded and must continue to use the traditional paper-visa channel, reflecting ongoing security and reciprocity concerns. For companies moving staff into India, the broader e-Visa net removes a logistical hurdle: HR teams can now deploy short-term project specialists from newly eligible countries without coordinating appointment slots at over-stretched consulates. Travel managers should still advise assignees to carry a print-out of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and a return or onward ticket, as immigration officers routinely request them. The government will publish the final country list on 20 July and open the application window on 1 August, giving global mobility teams three weeks to update policy documents and intranet guidance. Officials indicated that another 10 African states could join the scheme by December if the roll-out is smooth, signalling that India sees streamlined entry as a lever to boost inbound FDI and post-G20 tourism targets. Practical tip: remind travellers to use only the official portal (indianvisaonline.gov.in). Private intermediaries continue to charge mark-ups and have no influence over approvals—a common pain-point for first-time visitors.
