To attract more foreigners, govt relaxes e-visa regime

India has decided to liberalise e-visa regime from Saturday by increasing the time limit for seeking the entry permit from existing 30 days to a maximum of four months.

The duration of stay for foreigners, coming into the country through select categories of e-visa, has also been extended to two months from existing one month, the Union Home Ministry said in a statement.

There will be three new sub-categories for grant of e-visa, i.e. e-tourist visa, e-business visa and e-medical visa, from tomorrow. In addition, two more new categories –Intern or (I) visa and Film or (F) visa –will be granted for foreigner seeking internship in non-government organisations, and those seeking to shoot movies in India, respectively.

Also, both business and medical visas will be granted within 48 hours of application upon urgent requests, it said.

"The liberalisation of the visa regime will considerably facilitate entry of foreigners into India for tourism, business and medical purposes. Consequently, the arrival of foreigners in India is expected to go up substantially in the coming years. "This will in turn give a boost to tourism, medical and business sectors resulting in substantial increase in direct and indirect employment in these sectors," the statement said.

Under the e-visa scheme, an applicant receives an email authorising him or her to travel to India after it has been approved. The tourist can travel with a print-out of this authorisation. On arrival, the visitor has to present the authorisation to the immigration authorities who would then allow the entry into the country.