India adds Attari, 10 more e-visa entry points, restrictions on Pakistani travellers to continue

In a move that could make travel to India easier for more visitors, the Centre has notified 11 additional international entry points, including the India-Pakistan border at Attari in Punjab, for foreign nationals holding e-visas. With this addition, the total number of international entry points for e-visa holders has risen to 88, comprising 37 airports, 38 seaports and 13 land ports, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Restriction on Pakistani travellers stays

The benefit will be available to all foreign nationals except Pakistanis, as India does not grant e-visas to travellers holding Pakistani passports or those of Pakistani origin. “They may please apply for a regular visa at the Indian Mission,” according to the Indian visa application e-portal.

The e-visa facility is currently available under 17 sub-categories, including medical, student, mountaineering, cruise, tourist, transit, group travel and business, among others. Around 95 per cent of applications are processed within 72 hours. The latest move is expected to enhance the attractiveness and utility of the electronic visa.

New airports and land ports added

The Ministry of Home Affairs said the added land ports include Darranga, Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon, Dawki, Moreh and Attari (Road). Raxaul, Rupaidiha and Jogbani borders were already on the list. The two airports added to the list are Bhopal and Tirupati.

Other airports on the list are Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bhogapuram, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Calicut, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa (Dabolim), Goa (Mopa), Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kannur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Port Blair, Pune, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Trichy, Varanasi, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.

38 seaports covered under e-visa facility

India has also extended the facility to 38 seaports, including Agatti, Alang, Bedi Bandar, Bhavnagar, Calicut, Chennai, Cochin, Cuddalore, Dahej, Dhamra, Haldia, Hazira, Kakinada, Ennore-Kamarajar, Kandla, Karaikal, Kattupalli, Kolkata, Kollam, Krishnapatnam, Mandvi, Mormugao, Mumbai, Mundra, Nagapattinam, New Mangalore, Nhava Sheva, Paradeep, Pipavav, Porbandar, Port Blair, Sikka, Tuna Tekra, Tuticorin, Vallarpadam, Visakhapatnam, Vizhinjam-Kovalam and Vizhinjam.

Facility expanded since 2014

India introduced the e-visa facility in 2014 to liberalise and simplify the visa regime for nationals of 43 countries. The facility has since expanded to serve citizens of 172 countries. With Attari among the newly notified entry points and Bhopal and Tirupati added to the airport list, the government has widened access to India’s e-visa network while keeping the existing restriction on Pakistani travellers in place.