Published : 12 Nov 2026, 03:21 PM
Updated : 12 Nov 2026, 03:21 PM
Foreign nationals travelling for tourism, medical treatment, education and business will have access to a simplified visa framework under changes announced by the Indian government.
The new system reduces the number of main visa categories from 13 to nine and cuts the number of fields in application forms by 65 to 70 percent.
The changes also reduce visa sub-categories from 49 to 23, according to India's Ministry of Home Affairs.
The revised framework is likely to be used for visa issuance by the end of 2026, once the ministry completes updates to its information technology systems.
The Indian broadcaster NDTV reported the changes on Wednesday, saying they cover visitors, medical travellers, foreign students, researchers and business professionals.
The latest exercise follows an earlier overhaul in October 2025, when the government reduced the main visa categories from 22 to 13 and sub-categories from 63 to 49.
The ministry said it had studied visa systems in developed countries and international standards before making the latest changes.
Key Changes:
• Visitor: The Tourist Visa becomes a Visitor Visa. A short-stay version lasts 30 days, and a longer one runs for one, five or 10 years. It also covers business meetings, medical consultations and wellness retreats.
• Medical: valid for one year by default with multiple entries. Attendants get separate visas.
• Student: those admitted through the Study in India portal may get an e-visa valid for up to five years or the length of their course, whichever is shorter.
• Business: split into long-term and short-term, contract-based categories. Foreign technical experts hired by Indian companies are covered.
• E-visas, applied for online, are available to nationals of 172 countries.
The nine main categories are Business, Diplomatic, Work, Journalist, Medical, Official, Student, Visitor and Miscellaneous.
