India’s powerful policy think-tank NITI Aayog, working with the Ministry of Tourism, released a reform roadmap on 6 July that recommends nothing less than a transformation of the country’s entry regime. The report, unveiled at a national workshop, calls for a 90-day multiple-entry Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) for select low-risk markets and a wholesale redesign of the existing e-Visa portal.
For travellers and corporate mobility teams looking to stay ahead of these policy shifts, VisaHQ’s India portal provides up-to-date requirements, secure application processing and real-time status tracking. The service can help applicants transition smoothly from today’s e-Visa system to the forthcoming VoA option, while shielding them from fraudulent look-alike websites.
The objective is to lift India from 54th to the top-25 bracket of the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index by 2030. Under the proposal, VoA eligibility would expand far beyond the current trio of Japan, South Korea and the UAE. Criteria would include reciprocal access for Indians, tourism potential and migration risk scores. Officials would pilot the scheme at six major airports before extending it to seaports and land borders. In parallel, the Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration & Tracking (IVFRT) programme—recently funded through 2031—will roll out self-service e-gates, multilingual help-desks and an upgraded payment gateway that finally accepts non-Indian credit cards. For businesses, the 90-day VoA could slash planning time for client meetings, installation projects and post-sales maintenance trips. Destination-management companies anticipate a surge in high-spending, short-lead incentive groups that currently bypass India because visas take weeks to arrange. Airlines may shift capacity to key gateways such as Goa’s Manohar Parrikar International and the upcoming Noida airport, both of which are positioning themselves as VoA hubs. The report also urges a crackdown on fraudulent third-party visa websites, noting that travellers lost an estimated ₹120 crore to look-alike portals last year. A new single-window application interface and AI-driven fraud detection are slated for beta testing by December 2026. While the document is advisory, Tourism Ministry officials say several IT tenders have already been floated, signalling strong government intent. Stakeholders should monitor subsequent gazette notifications that will formalise fee structures and eligible nationalities; corporates may wish to update their traveller-tracking tools to flag employees who could switch from consular visas to VoA once the scheme is live.
For travellers and corporate mobility teams looking to stay ahead of these policy shifts, VisaHQ’s India portal provides up-to-date requirements, secure application processing and real-time status tracking. The service can help applicants transition smoothly from today’s e-Visa system to the forthcoming VoA option, while shielding them from fraudulent look-alike websites.
The objective is to lift India from 54th to the top-25 bracket of the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index by 2030. Under the proposal, VoA eligibility would expand far beyond the current trio of Japan, South Korea and the UAE. Criteria would include reciprocal access for Indians, tourism potential and migration risk scores. Officials would pilot the scheme at six major airports before extending it to seaports and land borders. In parallel, the Immigration, Visa, Foreigners Registration & Tracking (IVFRT) programme—recently funded through 2031—will roll out self-service e-gates, multilingual help-desks and an upgraded payment gateway that finally accepts non-Indian credit cards. For businesses, the 90-day VoA could slash planning time for client meetings, installation projects and post-sales maintenance trips. Destination-management companies anticipate a surge in high-spending, short-lead incentive groups that currently bypass India because visas take weeks to arrange. Airlines may shift capacity to key gateways such as Goa’s Manohar Parrikar International and the upcoming Noida airport, both of which are positioning themselves as VoA hubs. The report also urges a crackdown on fraudulent third-party visa websites, noting that travellers lost an estimated ₹120 crore to look-alike portals last year. A new single-window application interface and AI-driven fraud detection are slated for beta testing by December 2026. While the document is advisory, Tourism Ministry officials say several IT tenders have already been floated, signalling strong government intent. Stakeholders should monitor subsequent gazette notifications that will formalise fee structures and eligible nationalities; corporates may wish to update their traveller-tracking tools to flag employees who could switch from consular visas to VoA once the scheme is live.
