In its latest push to revive inbound travel, the Ministry of Tourism has quietly updated its website to show that nine additional nationalities are now eligible for India’s e-Tourist Visa (e-TV), taking total coverage to 166 countries. Industry trackers first spotted the change late on 8 February, and travel-trade portals confirmed it on 9 February.
The upgrade is more than a symbolic gesture. India’s e-TV is a fully digital authorisation that lets travellers apply, pay and receive clearance online, usually within 72 hours. Expanding eligibility means many multinational firms can now move technicians and short-term assignees into India without the paper chase of a regular consular visa. Travel managers say that alone can shave a week off deployment timelines—crucial when installing imported machinery or conducting audits under tight project windows.
For organisations or individual travellers who want extra reassurance when navigating the e-TV application, VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) provides step-by-step guidance, automated document checks and live status updates, cutting down on errors that cause costly delays.
![India Extends e-Tourist Visa Scheme to 166 Countries, Boosting Business and Leisure Arrivals]()
Trade bodies such as the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) welcomed the move, noting that conference and incentive (MICE) bookings from Africa and South America—two regions that gained several new inclusions—had already begun to tick up. Hoteliers in tier-2 industrial zones like Vadodara and Coimbatore report a surge in forward bookings for March plant-commissioning season.
From a policy standpoint, the decision dovetails with India’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes. By lowering the friction for foreign experts, New Delhi hopes to accelerate technology transfers and after-sales support, areas where delays were eroding ‘ease-of-doing-business’ scores. The Ministry of Home Affairs is expected to publish a formal notification aligning e-TV fees and validity for the new countries in the coming week.
For mobility managers, the immediate takeaway is operational: update eligibility matrices, brief assignees on the photo and payment specifications of the e-TV portal, and ensure that passport validity extends at least six months beyond date of arrival—still the most common reason for system rejections.
The upgrade is more than a symbolic gesture. India’s e-TV is a fully digital authorisation that lets travellers apply, pay and receive clearance online, usually within 72 hours. Expanding eligibility means many multinational firms can now move technicians and short-term assignees into India without the paper chase of a regular consular visa. Travel managers say that alone can shave a week off deployment timelines—crucial when installing imported machinery or conducting audits under tight project windows.
For organisations or individual travellers who want extra reassurance when navigating the e-TV application, VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) provides step-by-step guidance, automated document checks and live status updates, cutting down on errors that cause costly delays.
Trade bodies such as the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) welcomed the move, noting that conference and incentive (MICE) bookings from Africa and South America—two regions that gained several new inclusions—had already begun to tick up. Hoteliers in tier-2 industrial zones like Vadodara and Coimbatore report a surge in forward bookings for March plant-commissioning season.
From a policy standpoint, the decision dovetails with India’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes. By lowering the friction for foreign experts, New Delhi hopes to accelerate technology transfers and after-sales support, areas where delays were eroding ‘ease-of-doing-business’ scores. The Ministry of Home Affairs is expected to publish a formal notification aligning e-TV fees and validity for the new countries in the coming week.
For mobility managers, the immediate takeaway is operational: update eligibility matrices, brief assignees on the photo and payment specifications of the e-TV portal, and ensure that passport validity extends at least six months beyond date of arrival—still the most common reason for system rejections.
