The situation

The government of India has expanded the activities that e-Visa holders can perform in India.

A closer look

• Background. Under the e-Visa, business visitors were previously only allowed to set up industrial/business ventures, purchase or sell products, attend technical or business meetings, recruit manpower, participate in exhibitions, business/trade fairs, provide expertise with an ongoing project and deliver lectures under the Global Initiative for Academic Networks (GIAN) program.
• Unchanged aspects.
  • The three sub-categories of the e-Visa (e-Tourist Visa, e-Medical Visa and e-Business Visa) remain the same. There are no changes to the permissible activities under e-Tourist and e-Medical Visas.
  • The application process, eligibility requirements, restrictions and duration remain the same.

Impact for foreign nationals

Foreign nationals with short-term urgent business travel can now apply for an e-Visa and do not have to rely on Indian Missions to issue a Business Visa in their passports prior to travel. This will result in a faster and easier application and travel process for eligible short-term business travelers, who were previously required to apply for a Business Visa in India due to the limited scope of activities allowed under the e-Visa.

Fragomen in India is Fragomen Immigration Services India (Pvt) Ltd., operating exclusively as an immigration consultancy and not as a law firm in India. This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to IndiaQueries_NewPolicy@fragomen.com.