India has extended e-Tourist Visa scheme for Sri Lankan citizens

India has extended the e-Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme for Sri Lankan citizens in keeping with a pledge made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Sri Lanka last month.

The Indian High Commission said the Tourist Visa on Arrival enabled by Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme has come into force with effect from April 14, 2015.

The new scheme, it is said will be in addition to the existing visa services. Sri Lankan nationals holding Diplomatic / Official passports cannot avail of the eTV scheme. Sri Lankan nationals of Pakistani origin cannot avail of the eTV scheme either.

The eTV can be utilized by all Sri Lankan Nationals holding ordinary passports whose sole objective of visiting India is recreation, sightseeing, casual visit to meet friends or relatives, short duration medical treatment or casual business visit. The applicant should not have a residence or occupation in India. The applicant should hold a passport with at least six months validity from the date of arrival in India.

It may be noted that visa will not be issued on arrival without ETA. Applicants have to apply and obtain ETA online prior to undertaking travel to India. This process will take a minimum of 4 working days.

The eTV will be for single-entry, and valid for only 30 days stay from the date of arrival in India. The eTV will be non-extendable, non-convertible and not valid for visiting Protected /Restricted and Cantonment Areas. Entry into India must be through any of the following 9 designated airports only - Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. However, exit can be through any authorized Immigration Check Post (ICP) in India. Entry into India must be undertaken within 30 days from the date of approval of ETA. The eTV facility cannot be availed of more than twice in a calendar year.

The applicant should carry a printed copy of ETA along with him / her at the time of travel. He / she should have a return / onward journey ticket, with sufficient money to spend during his/her stay in India.

Biometric details of the applicant will be captured at Immigration on arrival in India.

There is a special fee of US$ 60 per person (plus an interchange charge of US$ 2 for credit / debit cards) for the new scheme. This fee must be paid before the application can be processed, and once paid, the fee is non-refundable.

E tourist visas for 31 more countries by June 15

The government is set to give a major push to the e-tourist visa scheme by extending it to 31 more countries and allowing foreign tourists to avail of the facility at seven more airports by June 15.

Among the countries that will benefit from the latest extension are the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Malaysia, Tanzania and Argentina.

For travel industry experts, Modi is a 'breath of fresh air'

The airports to be added to the existing list of nine where foreign citizens from eligible countries can land with an e-tourist visa are Jaipur, Amritsar, Gaya, Lucknow, Trichy, Varanasi and Ahmedabad. The airports have been chosen due to the large number of foreign tourists they receive on account of their proximity to major tourist spots.

The e-visa scheme presently covers 45 countries and can be availed across nine international airports. With the expansion of the scheme by June, the list will go up to 76 countries and 16 airports.

Govt changes name of visa-on-arrival scheme to e-tourist visa 

Among the countries whose citizens will now be eligible for e-visas are Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Belgium, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Surinam, Sweden, Tanzania, East Timor, Turks & Caicos Islands, the UK, Uruguay and Venezuela. Finance minister Arun Jaitley had in the Budget 2015-16 proposed extension of e-visa scheme to 150 countries.

ETA-enabled Tourist Visa on Arrival Scheme Renamed as e-Tourist Visa

The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India has decided to change the name of the scheme, ‘Tourist Visa on Arrival-Electronic Travel Authorization’ (TVoA-ETA) to ‘e-Tourist Visa’ (eTV), with effect from today. The extension of the scheme to more countries and airports will be in a phased manner, in order to avoid any confusion, as per a PIB release. 

The Centre has decided for a name change because the name TVoA-ETA was creating confusion among tourists. Tourists presumed that the visa is being granted on arrival, while the fact is that in the present system, the pre-authorisation of visa to foreigners is being given prior to travel. The Home Affairs Ministry had also received requests for name change from some Indian embassies. 

A committee of officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, and Bureau of Immigration (BoI) was formed for the formulation of a new name for the scheme. A contest was also conducted on mygov.in, inviting suggestions on the name of the scheme. 

Keeping in view the application process and purpose of the scheme, the committee had suggested e-Tourist Visa as the appropriate new name for the scheme. 

The Government of India had launched TVoA-ETA on November 27, 2014 for 43 countries at nine airports, to facilitate short-duration international travellers. Since the launch of the scheme, 110,000 visas have been issued by the government under this scheme.