India’s popular e-Visa platform now covers nationals of 167 countries—up from 156 a year ago—following an expansion confirmed in Parliament on 6 January by Tourism and Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The online system, which delivers electronic travel authorisations within 72 hours, has also grown to nine sub-categories with the launch of an e-Ayush visa for traditional-medicine seekers.
For corporates the headline gain is greater access to the multiple-entry e-Business visa, valid for one year with stays of up to 180 days per visit. The government has scrapped the previous limit of three e-Visas per calendar year, offering frequent travellers new flexibility for after-sales support, vendor audits, and start-up incubator visits.
To simplify the process even further, travellers and mobility managers can lean on VisaHQ’s India desk (https://www.visahq.com/india/) to handle document pre-screening, lodge applications, track ETA issuance in real time, and provide live-chat support for itinerary changes—ensuring approvals arrive smoothly and on schedule.
![India expands e-Visa scheme to 167 countries and nine categories]()
Travel-management companies say the simplification could cut assignment lead-times by a week because applicants no longer need to courier passports to consulates. However, they caution that passports must still have six-month validity and that any passport renewal voids an existing e-Visa, requiring re-application.
The expansion dovetails with India’s drive to exceed pre-pandemic tourist arrivals and disperse visitors to regional airports under the UDAN connectivity scheme. Officials hinted that later in 2026 the e-Visa portal will migrate to Aadhaar-based digital-KYC rails, potentially shrinking approvals to under 24 hours and enabling WhatsApp status alerts.
Mobility teams advising inbound assignees should update compliance matrices immediately, ensure that arrival ports are among the 29 e-Visa-enabled airports, and brief travellers on carrying a printed or digital ETA for airline check-in.
For corporates the headline gain is greater access to the multiple-entry e-Business visa, valid for one year with stays of up to 180 days per visit. The government has scrapped the previous limit of three e-Visas per calendar year, offering frequent travellers new flexibility for after-sales support, vendor audits, and start-up incubator visits.
To simplify the process even further, travellers and mobility managers can lean on VisaHQ’s India desk (https://www.visahq.com/india/) to handle document pre-screening, lodge applications, track ETA issuance in real time, and provide live-chat support for itinerary changes—ensuring approvals arrive smoothly and on schedule.
Travel-management companies say the simplification could cut assignment lead-times by a week because applicants no longer need to courier passports to consulates. However, they caution that passports must still have six-month validity and that any passport renewal voids an existing e-Visa, requiring re-application.
The expansion dovetails with India’s drive to exceed pre-pandemic tourist arrivals and disperse visitors to regional airports under the UDAN connectivity scheme. Officials hinted that later in 2026 the e-Visa portal will migrate to Aadhaar-based digital-KYC rails, potentially shrinking approvals to under 24 hours and enabling WhatsApp status alerts.
Mobility teams advising inbound assignees should update compliance matrices immediately, ensure that arrival ports are among the 29 e-Visa-enabled airports, and brief travellers on carrying a printed or digital ETA for airline check-in.
