A step by step visa guide to India

Here you will find a step by step guide about how you can easily apply for a visa for India.

** disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but this does not alter the fact that I share my own honest experiences about this service**

Traveling to India

Within 2 months it’s finally happening! Then we will travel to India for 2 weeks. A destination that appeals to the imagination and has been on our bucket list for years. With great enthusiasm, we are counting down the days to our departure.

We are, of course, already busy preparing our itinerary and making the necessary preparations. The first thing we already arranged was our Visa.

After our excellent experience with Visum buitenland.be for applying for our ESTA, tourist visa for the United States, we decided to use their services again.

Important to know before applying for a visa for India.

Nowadays, applying for a visa for India is very easy. You can just do it online. Depending on your purpose, traveling as a tourist or for business, you apply for a different visa. We applied for an E-tourist visa for our trip to India.

With this E-tourist visa you have to take certain things into account.

You can only enter India by plane via the authorized airports. These are: Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Portblair, Pune , Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Varanasi and Vishakhapatnam.

Also entering India by boat or cruise ship is only allowed through the ports of: Chennai, Cochin, Mormugao (near Goa), New Mangalore (near Mangalore) and Mumbai.

Leaving India, however, is allowed wherever there is an Immigration checkpost. This is the case at all the airports and seaports mentioned above, but also at the border with Nepal, at Banbasa, Gauriphanta, Jogbani, Ranigunj, Raxaul, Rupaidiha and Sonouli.

The E-tourist visa for India is valid for 365 days. This means that you can travel back and forth to India several times during that period. But you can only stay in India for 90 consecutive days. If you would like to stay here for longer than 90 days, you must apply for a different type of visa.

How to apply for a visa for India?

Are you applying for a visa for the first one? Be sure to check out this short, interesting introduction video.

Which visa do you need?

Go to the website VisumBuitenland.be and look which visa you need. We are traveling to India and therefore need a visa for India.

Apply for an E-tourist visa for India

Click on apply for a visa for India on the homepage or go directly to the correct webpage via this link.

At the top of the web page, enter your expected arrival date in India and your e-mail address. You can then click through to the official questionnaire.

Fill in the questionnaire

At first glance, this extensive questionnaire looks longer than it actually is. So it is certainly not a huge task. Everything is explained very clearly and you only have to follow the steps. To complete the questionnaire, it is useful to have a few travel documents at hand such as your international passport, national register number and travel planning. For the further processing of your visa you also need a digital passport photo and copy of your travel passport.

First you must enter a few contact details as an introduction.

You will then be asked for your travel information, such as when you will arrive or where you will be staying. If you are making a round trip, simply enter your first residence.

If you are a bit late for applying for your visa, you can also request an urgent delivery. For this you will have to pay a little extra on top of the price, but better to have a visa than to be denied acces to the country, right?

Also don’t forget to enter emergency contact. This is only for safety.

Then they will ask more personal details. Do you have any trouble finding the correct information? No worries, in the right bar you can always find an explanation about where and on which document the information you need can be found.

The questionnaire ends with some background questions. Don’t be put off by these questions. This is just a standard procedure when applying for any visa.

When you have completed the questionnaire completely, you can add the person you are traveling with and then this person must go through the same questionnaire.

If you have done this for each person, you must sign a statement of agreement. This for supplying the following documents: a passport photo of each person and a copy of the travel passport.

Then click on Apply for a visa.

Double check and payment

At the last step you will be asked to double-check all the information that you have already entered. Do this for sure, a small mistake is easily made.

Finally, you close the entire process of the application with the payment. You can choose from various payment options.

You will receive a proof of payment by e-mail.

Delivery of the documents

After payment you have to submit your documents (passport photo and copy of the travel passport) per person. Follow the instructions as well as possible so that you definitely submit the correct documents. Pay attention the documents are clear.

Approval documents

When your documents are approved, you will receive an email. Only then your official visa application will be processed. You can follow the entire process via the link obtained in the mail.

Approval visa

When your complete visa application for India has been approved you will be notified by email. You can now consult your visa via the link in the mail.

It is mandatory to print out your visa and take it with you when you travel to India. Also take the same travel passport for which you have sent a copy. This travel passport is linked to your visa

Travel advice

In addition to applying for your visa, you can also find a lot of important travel advice about your destination on Visumbuitenland.be. This way you can check which vaccinations or medication you need, whether the country you are traveling to is safe, what you should or should not take into account, …

For more travel advice about India, click here.

Applying for an E-tourist visa for India has never been this easy. The website is very well arranged, everything is explained down to the last detail and you only have to follow all the steps. The entire process takes barely 20 minutes of your time.

In addition to applying for a visa, there are some other preparations that you must and can take into account to plan your trip to India. Don’t forget to read 10 useful tips before traveling to Rajasthan in India.

If everything has worked out and you have your visa for India, I wish you a pleasant journey!

Also read a step by step visa guide to the USA

If you have any questions or suggestions regarding this blog post, please leave a message below.

Yours truly,

Sarah

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Travel tips and essentials

Would you like to plan an unforgettable trip? Then be sure to check out this useful overview of my personal travel tips!

Skyscanner is the place-to-be to book flights. This useful travel comparison website helps you find great deals for numerous destinations. Because I travel a lot, I often use airport parking. I already had good experiences with Parkos and Quickparking.

Booking accommodations is super easy through booking.com. Not only will you find plenty of stays and great deals, but by setting the filters you can quickly find an accommodation that meets all your needs.

When you're planning to rent a car during your trip, you should definitely opt for Sunny Cars. This transparent company collaborates with local car rental companies and ensures that all insurances ares already included when you book the car. So you don't have to worry about extra costs when picking up your car.

Are you looking for fun tours and unique travel experiences? Then head over to Getyourguide. Besides that, here you can also find some of the best deals for popular sights at your vacation destination.

Would you like to travel with public transport from one destination to another? Then 12togo is the place to be. Here you can easily find transfers in several countries.

Being a travel blogger I get a lot of questions about which photography equipment I use to photograph my travels.

I shoot with full-frame system camera: Nikon Z6II. I have a few lenses, but these 3 are my absolute favorites when traveling:

All-round lens: NIKKOR Z 24-70 mm f/2.8. (I shoot almost everything with this. Are you just starting to shoot? Then I would recommend this lens)
Wide-angle lens: NIKKOR Z 14-24 mm f/2.8. (Architecture, interior, landscapes,...)
Zoom lens: Nikkor NIKKOR Z 70-200 mm f/2.8. (Wildlife,...)

A tripod is also important if you want to take pictures of yourself, or if you want to photograph with a low shutter speed (dark space, night photography, waterfall,...). I use one from Sirui. For videos to post on my social media channels with I use my iPhone. When I travel alone I take my Joby GripTight GorillaPod PRO 2 with me. It's a small, useful tripod that I can attach to anything. Do you want to learn more about how to take the best vacation photos? Then take a look at my e-book where I share all my photography tips. Would you like to be able to edit your holiday photos quickly and beautifully? Then my Lightroom presets are an absolute must-have.

I wish you an unforgettable time on your next vacation!

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Asia, India, Travel Tips

A step by step visa guide to India

Traveling to India

Important to know before applying for a visa for India.