Indian E-Visa Regime Becomes More Friendly for Medical Tourists

With the now modified visa policies if a tourist gets sick during their stay in the country he/she can avail medical assistance without converting their e-visa into a medical visa. The government has taken this step looking at the growth of medical tourism market in India. This new law will also help tourists feel more save in the country, in case of any type of medical emergency.

Recently, the Indian Union Tourism Ministry made some amendments in the e-visa regime of the country, liberalising it further for the tourists. The government introduced the e-tourist Visa in September 2014 which only included 46 countries that now has been modified and is applicable for tourists coming from 166 countries.

The Indian Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry Home Affairs had been working closely to ease off the visa regime in the country for a while, and now it has been implemented.

Some of the Key Modifications made in E-visa policies include:

The duration time of stay for e-business and e-tourist visa applicants in India has been maximized up to 1 year, granting multiple entries to the tourists which are subject to staying stipulations.

The existing restriction which allowed a foreigner to enter the country for maximum three times under e-visa policies has been removed.

Further, e-visa tourists will be valid for entry from two more designated airports including Port Blair and Bhubaneswar, increasing the total number of airports to 28.

There is no separate category for destination wedding visa. Tourists coming to India for a destination wedding can directly apply for a normal tourist visa or e-tourist visa.

Further, foreign nationals who get afflicted by a medical condition in India during their stay can also avail a medical treatment in the country without converting their tourist visa into a medical permit. This only includes sudden medical emergencies.

Besides, visa-on-arrival facility is also extended to Republic of Korea.

Changes in E-Visa

The e-tourist visa is now applicable to 166 countries.

Nationals (who are eligible for the grant) coming on an e-tourist visa, cannot stay for more than 90 days continuously in India during each visit except for residents of USA, Canada, UK, and Japan.

Nationals belonging to USA, Canada, UK, and Japan, cannot stay over 180 days continuously in India during each visit.

In all the cases mentioned above nationals of the countries eligible for e-visa don’t have to go through registration.

Changes in Business e-Visa

For nationals coming to India on e-business visa, the limit for continuous stay for each visit is set at 180 days for all countries, eligible for e-visa.

No registration needs to be made if the tourists plans on staying in India for less than 180 days.

Following table depicts a comparing statement showing the recent changes made by the Indian Government in e-visa:

S. No.	Particulars concerning Visa Issues	Previous Status	Revised Status
1.	Duration of e-Visa	Up to 60 days with two entries for e-Business and e-Tourist Visa	Upto one year with multiple entriesthat are subject to the change based on reason for the stayand registrations applicable for normal Business and TouristVisas.
2.	Duration of Stay each visit	Maximum upto 60 days	e-Tourist visa 90-Days per visit 1. On e-Tourist Visa continuous stay is applicable for 90 days on each visit for all countries eligible for grant of e-visa expect US, Canada, UK, and Japannationals. 2. Nationals of USA,Canada, UK,and Japan can stay up to 180 days in India during each visit. e-Business visa 1. Can stay up to 180 days. (Only applicable for countries in the e-visa grant list) 2. No registration (with FRO/FRRO concerned) required for stay less than 180 days in India.
3.	Number of Entry	Double entry allowed (e-Tourist & e-Business Visa)	Multiple entries allowed
4.	Number of times visa issued in a year	Up to 3 Times in a year	Multiple times
5.	E-visa entry airports	26 airports	28 airports (Port Blare and Bhubaneshwar)
6.	Types of e-visa categories	Five sub-categories: e-tourist, e-Business e-Medical visa e-Conference e-Medical Attendant	Demand for issuing Destination Wedding Visa (removed) which will now be granted under a normal visa
7.	Visa Categorization for Medical Treatment in India	Conversion of visa categorizationrequired	Foreign nationals falling sick in India during their stay can avail healthcare services in the country without converting their tourist visa into medical visa, to takecare of medical emergencies.
8.	Visa-on-Arrival	Available for nationals of Japan	Visa-on-Arrival for Republic of Korea Nationals