India relaxes e-visa regime |
India has decided to liberalise e-visa regime by increasing the time limit for seeking the entry permit from existing 30 days to a maximum of four months. The duration of stay for foreigners, coming into the country through select categories of e-visa, has also been extended to two months from existing one month. There will be three new sub-categories for grant of e-visa, i.e. e-tourist visa, e-business visa and e-medical visa, from April 1. In addition, two more new categories - Intern or (I) visa and Film or (F) visa - will be granted for foreigner seeking internship in non-government organisations, and those seeking to shoot movies in India, respectively. Also, both business and medical visas will be granted within 48 hours of application upon urgent requests. The liberalisation of the visa regime will considerably facilitate entry of foreigners into India for tourism, business and medical purposes. Consequently, the arrival of foreigners in India is expected to go up substantially in the coming years. Another new category of visa, titled Film or (F) visa has also been introduced with maximum duration of one-year with multiple entry facility.
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