E-Tourist VISA Scheme
Posted on: 25/Apr/2016 5:56:40 PM
Government of India introduced e-Tourist Visa (earlier known as Tourist Visa on Arrival enabled by ETA) on 27.11.2014 to facilitate the nationals of the 43 countries visiting India. The e-Tourist Visa as on 26.02.2016 is available for nationals of 150 countries.
The year 2015 witnessed a growth rate of 4.5 percent in terms of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India. During 2015, FTAs were 8.03 million as compared to 7.68 million in 2014. FTAs during the period January-March 2016 were 25.08 lakh with a growth of 10.0 percent as compared to the FTAs of 22.81 lakh in January-March 2015.
During January-December 2015 a total of 4,45,300 tourists arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 39,046 during January-December 2014 registering a growth of 1040.4 percent.
During the month of January-March 2016, a total of 3,21,049 tourists arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 75,859 during the month of January-March 2015 registering a growth of 323.2 percent.
The list of 150 countries eligible for e-Tourist Visa to India is given below:-
Albania, Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Island, Chile, China, China- SAR Hongkong, China- SAR Macau, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote d`lvoire, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Fiji, Finland.
France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue Island, Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland.
Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Island, Tuvalu, UAE, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, USA, Vanuatu, Vatican City-Holy See, Venezuela, Vietnam., Zambia, Zimbabwe.
This information was given by Dr. Mahesesh Sharma, Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge) and Minister of State for Civil Aviation in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
