India Visa Requirements for U.S. Citizens
Asia · IN
India visa requirements for U.S. citizens
e-Visa required, applied for online in advance
- U.S. passport status
- e-Visa
- Visa-free days
- 30 days
- Document route
- Apostille
- Translation
- Required
- Short-stay fee
- $25
- Schengen area
- No
Entering India
U.S. citizens need a visa for India. The e-Visa is applied for entirely online through the official Government of India portal and is issued in several durations including 30 days, one year and five years for tourism, plus separate business, medical and medical attendant categories. There are a very large number of lookalike websites charging substantial mark-ups for the same government product; the only official portal is indianvisaonline.gov.in.
Passport requirements
Valid for at least six months beyond your intended departure, with at least two blank pages.
What is specific to India
India is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so U.S. documents are apostilled rather than legalised, which is a significant simplification. Note the registration requirement: holders of certain long-stay visas, including employment, student and medical visas, must register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office within 14 days of arrival. India also operates the Overseas Citizen of India card for people of Indian origin and their spouses, which is not citizenship but confers lifelong multiple-entry rights and most residence and economic privileges, and it is by far the most valuable status available to the Indian-American community.
Visa categories for India
Each has its own page combining the universal process for that category with what India specifically requires.
Tourist and Visitor Visa
e-Tourist visa in 30-day, one-year and five-year versions, applied for online.
Business Visitor Visa
e-Business visa, requiring letters from both the sending and receiving companies.
Student and Study Visa
Student visa, with FRRO registration required after arrival.
Work and Employment Visa
The employment visa requires a minimum salary threshold and attested qualifications, and is not available for jobs an Indian national could fill.
Family, Spouse and Partner Visa
Family routes are usually the most generous immigration category a country offers and simultaneously the most document-intensive. There is normally no income test on…
Medical Treatment Visa
A dedicated e-Medical visa with a triple entry, plus a separate e-Medical Attendant visa for accompanying family. FRRO registration within 14 days.
Permanent Residence and Citizenship
The Overseas Citizen of India card for people of Indian origin and their spouses, which gives lifelong entry and most residence rights without being citizenship.
Where and how to apply
- Official portal
- Indian Visa Online (official)
- Where to file
- At the consulate with jurisdiction over your U.S. state of residence.
- Biometrics
- Fingerprints and a facial image are collected for most visa categories.
- Fees
- e-Visa fees vary by duration and season, commonly 25 to 80 dollars for tourist categories, plus a bank charge. Regular paper visas cost more.
- Short-stay processing
- Typically 72 to 96 hours for an e-Visa; apply at least a week ahead
- Long-stay processing
- Employment and long-stay visas take several weeks and require documents to be attested
Documents and authentication for India
India is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so U.S. public documents are apostilled. That is a single certificate and it is the end of the chain.
Translation. Required into English or Hindi where documents are in another language.
- 1 Obtain a certified original From the issuing authority. Photocopies, scans and souvenir certificates cannot be authenticated.
- 2 Notarise, if it is a private document Letters, affidavits, powers of attorney and diploma copies need a notary acknowledgement first. Government-issued vital records do not.
- 3 County clerk, in some states A handful of states require the county clerk to certify the notary commission before the Secretary of State will act.
- 4 Authenticate at the right level State-issued documents go to the Secretary of State of the ISSUING state. Federal documents, including the FBI Identity History Summary, go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
- 5 Apostille or embassy legalisation Hague Convention destination: the apostille ends the chain. Non-member destination: the document then goes to that country embassy or consulate. For India the apostille ends the chain.
- 6 Certified translation Translate the document together with its apostille or legalisation certificate. Doing this first means paying twice. Required into English or Hindi where documents are in another language.
- 7 File with the right consulate Jurisdiction is by your U.S. state of residence. Bring originals plus a full copy set.
The two expensive mistakes. Sending a federal document such as an FBI Identity History Summary to a Secretary of State, which cannot authenticate it. And translating before authentication, so the apostille certificate is not inside the translation and the whole set has to be paid for twice.
Official sources
- Indian Visa Online (the only official portal) e-Visa applications. Beware of lookalike sites charging mark-ups.
- Bureau of Immigration Visa categories, FRRO registration and entry rules.
- Overseas Citizen of India The OCI card for people of Indian origin.
Questions about India
Which website is the real one?
indianvisaonline.gov.in. India e-Visa is one of the most heavily impersonated government services in the world, with dozens of professional-looking sites charging three to five times the government fee for the identical product. Type the official address directly rather than searching for it.
What is an OCI card?
Overseas Citizen of India status, available to people of Indian origin and their spouses. It is not citizenship, and it does not give voting rights or government employment, but it gives a lifelong multiple-entry visa and most residence, property and economic rights. For anyone eligible it is far more valuable than any visa.
Verified Sep 7, 2026 Primary sources: boi.gov.in, indianvisaonline.gov.in
This resource is provided free by Federal Apostille as an educational tool. It is not legal or immigration advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using it. Visa rules, fees, processing times and entry requirements change frequently and often without notice, and individual circumstances change the answer. Always confirm current requirements with the official government source and the specific embassy or consulate that has jurisdiction over your place of residence before you book travel or file an application. Every figure on this site carries the date we last verified it and a link to the primary source.
