New Delhi: India has widened the network of entry points available to foreign travellers using electronic visas, adding more land-border crossings and airports as part of the government’s effort to simplify the visa regime and strengthen technology-based immigration systems.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said on 10 August that the government has notified 11 additional international ports where foreigners holding valid e-Visas can enter the country. The new additions comprise nine land ports and two airports.
With the expansion, the number of international entry points available to e-Visa holders has increased to 88, comprising 37 airports, 38 seaports and 13 land ports.
The two newly added airports are Bhopal and Tirupati.
According to the Home Ministry, the nine land ports added to the list are Agartala, Darranga, Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon, Dawki, Moreh and Attari (Road).
The addition expands the number of designated land-border entry points available to e-Visa holders and gives foreign travellers more options for entering India through authorised immigration checkpoints.
The government said the move forms part of measures undertaken over the past few years to liberalise, streamline and simplify India’s visa regime for legitimate foreign travellers while strengthening technological infrastructure for internal security.
According to the ministry, around 95% of e-Visa applications are currently processed in less than 72 hours.
India introduced the e-Visa facility with Electronic Travel Authorization in 2014, initially making it available to nationals of 43 countries.
The facility has since expanded and is now available to nationals of 172 countries, according to the Home Ministry.
The e-Visa regime currently covers 17 sub-categories, including tourist, mountaineering, business, medical, student and transit visas, along with Group Visitor Visa for cruise passengers and other categories covered under the system.
The latest notification is particularly significant for land-border connectivity, with the total number of designated land ports available to e-Visa holders now standing at 13.
The PIB release lists Darranga among the nine newly added land ports. As the same official release also contains an inconsistency in its broader land-port listing, the government’s newly notified list has been retained here without separately classifying Darranga as a previously existing entry point.
The international airport network available to e-Visa travellers now includes major gateways such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Goa, along with the newly added Bhopal and Tirupati airports.
E-Visa holders can also enter through 38 designated seaports, including Mumbai, Cochin, Chennai, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Mundra, New Mangalore and Vizhinjam, among others.
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