India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has quietly upgraded its visa-on-arrival (VoA) programme for United Arab Emirates nationals. Effective 20 November, Emirati travellers can now obtain a VoA at nine international gateways instead of the previous six: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata are joined by Cochin, Calicut and Ahmedabad. The VoA permits stays of up to 60 days and, for the first time, allows an unlimited number of trips per year, provided the visitor has previously held an Indian visa of any type.
The change is expected to ease short-notice travel for C-suite executives, project teams and medical tourists. Bilateral trade exceeded US $85 billion in FY 2024-25 and India is the top destination for UAE outbound traffic; until now, limited airport coverage forced many business travellers to queue for e-visas or connect through overloaded hubs. Travel managers should update policy matrices, noting the ₹2,000 (≈ AED 83) fee, double-entry allowance and continued ineligibility for applicants of Pakistani origin.
![India Adds Three Airports, Unlimited Visits in Expanded Visa-on-Arrival Scheme for Emiratis]()
Airports Authority of India has created dedicated VoA counters and promises average processing times of 15 minutes. Carriers such as Emirates and Air India Express plan to re-time early-morning arrivals into Kerala to capitalise on the new facilities, while tour operators expect a surge in Gulf medical tourism to the state’s private hospitals.
Corporate mobility teams should brief travellers to carry proof of funds, return tickets and hotel confirmations; secondary screening remains common for first-time VoA users. Frequent flyers can still apply for e-visas if they prefer to pre-pay and skip airport counters. Overall, the expansion aligns India’s entry rules more closely with the UAE’s own multiple-entry e-visa for Indian nationals and is viewed as another dividend of the 2022 UAE–India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
The change is expected to ease short-notice travel for C-suite executives, project teams and medical tourists. Bilateral trade exceeded US $85 billion in FY 2024-25 and India is the top destination for UAE outbound traffic; until now, limited airport coverage forced many business travellers to queue for e-visas or connect through overloaded hubs. Travel managers should update policy matrices, noting the ₹2,000 (≈ AED 83) fee, double-entry allowance and continued ineligibility for applicants of Pakistani origin.
Airports Authority of India has created dedicated VoA counters and promises average processing times of 15 minutes. Carriers such as Emirates and Air India Express plan to re-time early-morning arrivals into Kerala to capitalise on the new facilities, while tour operators expect a surge in Gulf medical tourism to the state’s private hospitals.
Corporate mobility teams should brief travellers to carry proof of funds, return tickets and hotel confirmations; secondary screening remains common for first-time VoA users. Frequent flyers can still apply for e-visas if they prefer to pre-pay and skip airport counters. Overall, the expansion aligns India’s entry rules more closely with the UAE’s own multiple-entry e-visa for Indian nationals and is viewed as another dividend of the 2022 UAE–India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
