E-visa rules eased, fee to be based on tourist footfall

NEW DELHI: India will introduce a flexible e-tourist visa regime for over 160 countries based on footfall, with higher visa fee for peak season between July and March, and a significantly lower fee for travel during the lean season between April and June, Union culture and tourism minister Prahlad Patel announced on Tuesday.
The decision, which has been taken following an approval by the ministries of external affairs and home, was announced by Patel at the inauguration of the meeting of state tourism ministers here.
Under the new fee structure, the 30-day e-visa fee will range between $10 and $25, for lean and peak season travel respectively. For a one year e-visa, inbound tourists will have to shell out $25. The government has also introduced a new five-year e-visa category for which tourists will have to pay $80.
In addition, there will be no visa fee for tourists from 14 Pacific Island nations belonging to Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC)—Fiji, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, and separately Myanamar, Argentina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa and Uruguay.