If you are applying for the Indian Visa Online (e-Visa India) for your trip to India you can do so online now as the Government of India has made available an electronic or e-Visa for India. But in order to apply for the same you need to meet certain Indian e-Visa eligibility conditions and also provide soft copies of certain documents before your application is accepted. Some of these required documents are specific to the purpose INDIAN VISA PASSPORT REQUIREMENTS of your visit to the India and consequently the kind of Visa you are applying for, that is, Tourist e-Visa for the purposes of tourism, recreation, or sightseeing, Business e-Visa for the purposes of business of trade, Medical e-Visa and Medical Attendant e-Visa for the purposes of medical treatment and accompanying the patient getting the treatment. But there are also certain documents that are required for all of these Visas. One of these documents, and the most important of them all, is a soft copy of your Passport. What follows below is a complete guide to help you with all of the Indian Visa Passport Requirements. If you follow these guidelines and meet all the other requirements you can apply for the Indian e-Visa online without having to visit your local Indian Embassy for the same.
Government of India has made the entire Indian e-Visa Application process from research, application filing, payment, documentation upload scan copies of passport and face photograph, payment by credit/debit card and receipt of Indian e-Visa dispatch to the application by Email.
What are the India Visa Passport Requirements?
In order to be eligible for the Indian e-Visa, no matter which kind of e-Visa you are applying for, you need to upload an electronic or scanned copy of your passport. According to the Indian Visa Passport Requirements this has to be an ordinary or standard Passport, not Official Passport or Diplomatic Passport or Refugee Passport or Travel Documents of any other kind. Before uploading a copy of it you must ensure that your Passport will remain valid for at least 6 months from the date of your entry into India. This is the India Visa Passport Validity mandated by the Government of India. If you don’t meet the India Visa Passport Validity condition, which is at least 6 months from the visitor’s date of entry into India, you would need to renew your passport before sending in your application. You should also ensure that your Passport has two blank pages, which wouldn’t be seen online, but the border officers at the airport would need the two blank pages to stamp entry/exit on.
Note: If you already have an Indian e-Visa that is still valid but your Passport has expired then you can apply for a new Passport and travel on your INDIAN VISA PHOTO REQUIREMENTS (e-Visa India) carrying both the old and the new Passports with you. Alternatively, you can also apply for a new Indian Visa (e-Visa India) on the new Passport.
What all must be visible on the Passport to meet the India e-Visa Passport Requirements?
To meet the Indian Visa Passport Requirements, the scan copy of your Passport that you upload on your Indian Visa application needs to be of the first (biographical) page of your Passport. It needs to be clear and legible with all four corners of the Passport visible and the following details on your Passport should be visible:
- Given name
- Middle name
- Data of birth
- Gender
- Place of birth
- Passport place of issue
- Passport number
- Passport issue date
- Passport expiry date
- MRZ (Two strips at the bottom of passport known as Magnetic Readable Zone which would be by passport readers, machines at the time of airport entry and exit. Everything above these two strips in the passport is called the Visual Inspection Zone (VIZ) which is looked at by the Immigration Officers at the Government of India offices, Border Officers, Immigration Checkpoint officers.)
All of these details on your Passport should also match exactly with what you fill out on your application form. You should fill in the application form with the exact same information as mentioned in your Passport as the details you fill in will be matched by Immigration Officers with what is shown on your Passport.
Important Note for the Indian Visa Passport Place of Birth
When entering your Place of Birth in the Indian Visa application form enter exactly what is shown on your Passport without being more specific or precise. If, for instance, the Place of Birth on your Passport says London, enter just that, not the name of the town or suburb in London. If the Place of Birth mentioned on your Passport has now been submerged into another town or is known by another name you should still enter exactly what your Passport says.
Remember this tip for the Indian Visa Passport Place of Issue
There is usually some confusion about the India Visa Passport Place of Issue. The question about the India Visa Passport Place of Issue is to be filled with the issuing authority of your Passport which would be mentioned on your Passport. If you are from USA this would be the United States Department of State. But the application form does not provide enough space to type that fully, so you can abbreviate that to USDOS. For all other countries write the place of issue mentioned in your Passport.
Your image on your Passport can be different from the passport style photograph of your face that you upload on your Indian Visa application.
