How to: Apply for an Indian Tourist Visa for Philippine Passport Holders

Philippine passport holders are required to get a visa to travel India. A 60-day tourist visa with double entry may be granted for the purpose of tourism. Visa on arrival used to be allowed, but in 2015, they changed the policy requiring everyone to apply for an e-Visa. No fret though, getting an e-Visa is conveniently one click away.

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to get an e-Visa to India:

Step 1: Prepare the requirements
Applicants may apply as early as 120 days up to 4 days before the intended date of travel. Before applying online, make sure to prepare the following:
1. Valid passport: With at least 6-month validity from the intended date of arrival in India. Make sure there’s at least 2 blank pages for stamping.
2. Intended date of travel: Whatever date of arrival and departure you declare don’t have to be final. The e-Visa that will be issued to you will have a 120-day window based on the date the e-Visa was granted. For example, if your visa was issued on June 1, you may arrive India until October 1, which is a 120-day period.
3. Port of entry: The declared port of entry must match the actual airport / seaport of your arrival. It’s valid for entry to 24 airports and 3 seaports in India.

4. Accommodation in India: Whether you’ll be hosted by someone or will stay in a hotel, take note of the name, address, and contact number. These information will be asked when you fill up the e-visa application form.
5. Bio page / front page of passport: This will be required to complete the e-Visa application form. It must be in PDF format, at least 10 KB but not more than 300 KB in size, and all information must be clear and visible. With my experience, I just took a photo of my passport and converted it to PDF. I converted from JPEG to PDF here.
6. 2x2-inch colored photo: This will be required to complete the e-Visa application form. It must be in JPEG format, with white or light background, and the required size is at least 10 KB but not more than 1 MB.

Step 2: Go to Indian Visa Online
The URL is http://ift.tt/1urnhIn. The main page of Indian Visa Online looks like this:

Tip: To avoid being scammed online, make sure to process it through the official website. A good is to check that the embassy or consulate’s website is official. The URL must have the country’s abbreviation. For example, .ph for Philippines, .jp for Japan, and .kr for Korea.

Step 3: Fill up the e-Visa application
If applying for a tourist visa, select “eTOURIST VISA” and choose among the 3 purposes. In my case, for example, I chose “RECREATION AND SIGHT-SEEING.”

In the second page, you have to fill up more details.

From this page on, in case you need more time to fill up the next pages, finish the current page and then click “Save and Temporarily Exit.” Take note of the 15-character Temporary Application that serves as your reference to go back to your partially filled up application form.

To continue your partially filled up application form, go to the main page of Indian Visa Online and click “Complete Partially Filled Form.”

It will ask for the Temporary Application ID that you took note of.

The third page looks like this:

The fourth page looks like this:

Next, it will ask for your 2x2 colored photo.

Then, it will ask for the bio page / front page of your passport. Note that unless you follow the required specifications, it will not go through.

Step 4: Pay the e-Visa fee
As of July 2017, the e-Visa fee costs USD 50. India Visa Online is partnered with Axis Bank Payment Gateway service, which accepts Visa, Mastercard, and Maestro debit and credit cards globally. On top of the visa fee, it has 2.5% banking charge. With my experience, I was charged USD 1.25.

My total charge was USD 51.25 (PHP 2,660.01). The exchange rate on that day was USD 51.90.

Step 5: Wait for the e-Visa result via email
With my experience, it only took 2 days. Yup, it was that fast! I received an email with a GRANTED result in it. Yey! In case you need to check the status of your application, go to the main page of Indian Visa Online and click “Visa Status.”

It will bring you to Visa Status Enquiry page where you have to enter the 12-character Application ID (not to be mistaken with Temporary Application ID) and your passport number.

To print the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) that represents the e-Visa, click the “Print Status.”

Tip: Bring a hard copy of it upon arrival in India. It will be required upon doing the biometrics. Also, bring copies of round trip plane tickets, accommodation vouchers, tour vouchers, and other travel documents that may be asked at the Indian immigration.

Read my other entries on visa applications!
How to: Apply for Japanese Tourist Visa for Philippine Passport Holders
How to: Apply for Korean Tourist Visa for Philippine Passport Holders
How to: Apply for Taiwanese Tourist Visa for Philippine Passport Holders

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