About India Business E Visa:

Business travelers who want to participate in commercial activities in India will require a India business visa to perform their desired activities. It must be noted that business visa guidelines are different from a tourist visa, and if your purpose of travel to India is purely commercial and business-related, then applying for a tourist visa will be useless.

Acquiring travel authorization to enter India for business purposes is extremely easy now that the government is offering electronic visas to nationals of over 169 countries. The electronic visas or India e visas can be quickly obtained by filling out an online Indian application form and submitting the required supporting Indian visa documents.

Validity Terms of India Business Visa:

From April 2019 onwards, the validity period for all newly issued business and tourist visas was revised by the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Now, the visas are valid for a longer-term than before. India business visas will now be valid for a minimum of 365 days, during which travelers can make multiple trips to India. There is no limitation on the number of trips travelers can make to India.

Travelers holding a Canadian, Japanese, UK or USA passport are allowed to stay in the country for a maximum duration of 180 days, starting from the date of their arrival in the country. All other nationalities can stay for a maximum period of 90 days per visit. Travelers holding a business visa who want to extend their stay for longer than 180 consecutive days will need to register themselves at an Indian FRO or FRRO office before the 160th day.

Online Business Visa Application Requirements:

All business travelers are expected to fulfill specific eligibility criteria before applying for the visa. Here’s an overview of the documents needed to apply for the business visa.

Passport Requirements:

Applicants will have to submit a digital scan of their passport’s biography page and enter details of their passport, including passport number, issue date, and expiry date in the visa form. Travelers must possess a valid passport with at least 6 months left in its expiration, starting from the date of their arrival in India. Every traveler will need to have a valid passport, including minors and children. It also should have at least two blank pages for stamping purposes. Travelers must use the same passport when traveling and staying in India.

Travel Details:

At the time of completing the application form, the traveler must specify the purpose of their travel. If it is business, they must select the appropriate category. The traveler must provide transit or return ticket at the time of arrival. The approved Indian e visa should be presented in hard copy, printed on a color A4 paper. Moreover, traveler must provide proof of sufficient funds to support their stay in India.

Personal information Requirements:

The e-Visa form will contain a set of questions to gather information about the personal and occupational details of the applicant. The applicant will need to provide details about their country of origin/nationality, full name, surname, parents names, date of birth, employment, residential address, contact number, and email address. Applicants will also provide contact information of their employer (if applicable). Furthermore, you will upload a digital scan of your recent passport-style photograph with plain white background and full-frontal view of the applicant’s face.

Business travelers must also upload their business card. In case you don’t possess one, use another document that has a similar layout and information as a business card usually has, such as an email closing segment.

How to Apply for a Indian Business Visa?

If you qualify to apply for Indian business visa, all you have to do is complete the online visa application form. Apart from providing all the necessary details, and uploading the supporting documents, you will need to pay the Indian visa fees. You can pay using a MasterCard, American Express, or Visa credit or debit card, or a PayPal or UnionPay account. Once the payment is processed, you just need to wait for the visa approval. The electronic visa is sent directly to your email address in a PDF file format. You must immediately take out a print of the eVisa and keep it with you throughout your stay in India.

Remember that the normal delivery time for a business visa is 3-5 days, 1-3 days if you want it quicker, and 24 hours if you want a visa urgently. The visa processing will not start until you pay the visa fees and fulfill all the requirements, including uploading the supporting documents.

Arriving in India:

Business travelers are allowed to enter India through designated ports of entry. If you are arriving by air, you must book flights that land at the following airports:

Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Port Blair, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Varanasi and Vishakhapatnam.

If you are arriving via a cruise ship or boat, the designated ports of entry include Cochin, Chennai, Mumbai, New Mangalore, and Mormugao. Travelers are allowed to change the location and date of their arrival or departure in India even after they have already submitted the visa application form. However, this facility depends on whether the new dates fall within the traveler’s visa validity period.

When you arrive in India, you will be required to show your passport and the E-Visa. Make sure to hand over the same passport that you used to apply for the India business visa. You will also show your return or transit ticket, and proof of sufficient funds to stay in India.

Leaving India:

You must not overstay your visa and leave the country through any of the designated Immigration Check Posts. These include all seaports, including the border with Nepal, and all international airports. Suppose you intend to leave India via the border with Nepal. In that case, you should choose immigration check posts in any of these locations- Banbasa, Gauriphanta, Jogbani, Rani Gunj, Raxaul, Rupaidiha and Sonouli.

There are some limitations for international travelers at some northern areas in India, mainly to the North and East of Bangladesh. These regions include Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Sikkim, and Mizoram. Avoid leaving India via any of these regions.

Sticker Visa or Electronic Visa?

If you are a business traveler who needs to stay longer than the allotted duration of 180 days depending upon your nationality, you should not apply for the electronic business visa. To be eligible for an extended stay in India, you will need to apply for the traditional sticker or stamped visa through your local Indian embassy or consulate.

India Business Visa Fees:

The India visa cost of a business visa varies according to the nationality, visa validity, and processing time required by the traveler. The sooner you want your application to be processed, the higher will be the cost of your Indian Visa. The online application process takes just ten minutes to complete, and it is a cost-effective method of obtaining a business visa. We currently offer the following three processing times for India Business Visa.

• Standard: Will be issued within 3-5 days.
• Rush: Will be issued within 1-3 days.
• Super Rush: Will be issued within 24 hours.

You can pay indian visa fee by American Express, MasterCard, or Visa payment card or PayPal and UnionPay.

All businesspeople wishing to invest in the thriving market of the Indian subcontinent must obtain a business visa. Applying for a business visa is necessary if you want to participate in business meetings or conferences, enter a partnership with India-based employers and organizations, attend trade exhibitions and seminars, and look for investment opportunities within the country. Obtaining a business visa will entitle you for several exclusive perks, which will be discussed in this article.