India’s online visa application portal updated its eligibility matrix on 19 September 2026 to include British passport holders from the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man) as well as citizens of the UK’s 14 Overseas Territories. The change appears in the drop-down list of ‘Country of Passport’ on the indiansevisa.org application form. Previously, residents of these territories—even though British citizens—had to lodge paper applications at the nearest Indian mission because their passports were not recognised by the automated system. The new listing brings them in line with mainland UK nationals, allowing them to apply for tourist, business, medical and conference e-Visas. For Indian tourism operators targeting high-net-worth visitors from territories such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, the policy simplifies group bookings and cruise itineraries that include Indian ports. Corporates headquartered in the Channel Islands with operations in India can now move staff with the same 72-hour e-Visa processing that applies to other UK travellers. Mobility teams should update any static instruction pages and ensure that employees select the correct territorial option when completing the online form; failure to match the passport issuing authority may still lead to rejection. The update also indirectly benefits multinational firms basing global employment contracts on BOT passports for tax reasons, removing an administrative hurdle for short-term project deployments to India.
Source: Indian Online Visa Portal
