RIYADH — India has now extended the e-visa facility to Saudi nationals, according to a statement from the Indian Embassy here. Now Saudi nationals can apply for the visa to visit Indian cities online from the comfort of their homes. The visas available online include e-tourist, e-business, e-conference and e-medical visas. People seeking to travel to India are advised to go through instructions available on the website of India's Bureau of Immigration at https://boi.gov.in. It was also announced that the Indian government would not be charging any additional fees for the grant of emergency or express e-visa. The eligibility for an e-visa has also been set. International travelers whose sole objective for visiting India is recreation, sight seeing, casual visit to friends and relatives, attending a short term yoga program, medical treatment including treatment under Indian systems of medicine, business purpose, assisting an e-medical visa holder, and attending a conference, seminar, or workshop can avail of the facility. The passport of e-visa seekers should have at least six months validity from the date of arrival in India. The passport should have at least two blank pages for stamping by the immigration officer. International travelers should have return tickets or onward journey tickets, and sufficient money to spend during their stay in India. International travelers of Pakistani origin or holding a Pakistani passport need to apply for regular visas at Indian Missions. The e-visa is not available to diplomatic or official passport holders or laissez-passer (a pass that is used in lieu of a passport) travel document holders. It is not available to individuals endorsed on a parent's or spouse's passport, which means each individual traveler should have a separate passport. Foreigners other than those applying for e-conference visas will be allowed to club activities under permitted categories. E-conference visa applicants will be allowed to club activities permitted under e-tourist visa only. Only two e-medical attendant visas will be granted against one e-medical visa. For e-tourist and e-business visa, applicants need to apply online minimum four days in advance of the date of arrival. For e-medical, e-medical attendant and e-conference visa, applicants need to apply online minimum four days in advance of the date of arrival with a window of 120 days. For example, the applicant for an e-visa on Sept. 1 can choose the arrival date between Sept. 5 and Jan. 2. The fee for e-visa is country specific. Bank transaction charges of 2.5 percent will be charged additionally on applicable e-visa fees. The fee must be paid at least four days before the expected date of travel or the application will not be processed. The fee applicable on each country is listed on the e-visa website. Applicants should carry a copy of the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) at the time of travel after ensuring that the ETA status is shown as "granted" on the e-visa website prior to commencement of the journey. Biometric details of the applicant will be recorded at the immigration on arrival in India. The e-visa is non-extendable, non-convertible and not valid for visiting protected, restricted and cantonment areas.
