Understanding the Dates on Your Indian Visa: Expiry Date Insights
There are 3 dates that apply to your Indian Visa which you receive electronically by email.
- Date of Issue of ETA: This is the date when the Government of India issued the Indian e-Visa.
- Date of expiry of ETA: This date implies the last date by which the Visa holder must enter India.
- Last date of Stay in India: Not mentioned in your electronic India Visa. It is dynamically calculated based on your entry date in India and the type of Visa.
When does your Indian Visa expire
There is quite a bit of confusion amongst the visitors to India. The confusion is caused by the word Expiry of ETA.
30 Days Tourist India Visa
A 30 Day Tourist India Visa holder MUST enter India before the Date of expiry of ETA.
Suppose the Date of Expiry of ETA mentioned in you Indian Visa is the 8th of January 2020. A 30-day Visa allows you to stay in India for 30 consecutive days. If you enter India on the 1st of January 2020, then you can stay until the 30th of January, however if you enter India on the 5th of January, then you can stay in India until the 4th of February.
In other words, the last date of stay in India depends on your entry date into India and is not fixed or known at the time of issue of your India Visa.
It is mentioned in Red bold letters in your Indian Visa:
e-Tourist Visa Validity period is 30 days from the date of first arrival in India.
Business Visa, 1 Year Tourist Visa, 5 Year Tourist Visa and Medical Visa
For the Business Visa, 1 Year Tourist Visa and 5 Year Tourist Visa, the last date of stay is mentioned in the Visa. Visitors cannot stay beyond this date. This date is the same as the Date of expiry of ETA.
This fact is mentioned in red bold letters in the Visa for instance or a Business Visa, it is 1 Year or 365 Days.
e-Visa Validity period is 365 days from the date of issuance of this ETA.
In conclusion, the last date of stay in India is already mentioned for Medical Visa, Business Visa, 1 Year Tourist Visa, 5 Year Tourist Visa, it is the same as the Date of expiry of ETA.
However, for a 30 Day Tourist Visa, Date of expiry of ETA is not the date of last date of stay in India but it is the last date of entry into India. Last date of stay is 30 day from the date of entry into India.
Citizens from 165 countries can now avail the benefit of online filing of Indian Visa application for business purposes as per the statutes of Indian Government. It should be noted that tourist visa is not valid for business trips to India. A person may hold both tourist and business visa at the same time as they are mutually exclusive. A business trip to requires an Indian Visa for Business. Visa to India restricts the activities that can be performed.