Transit visa requirements for India

Foreigners whose sole purpose to travel through India to a destination outside India requires a Transit visa. A Transit Visa will ordinarily be valid for a single journey and for entry within 15 days from date of issue, unless otherwise specified. In any case, the period of validity of a Transit visa will not exceed that of the visa for the country of ultimate destination.

A transit visa is only valid for direct transit, irrespective of the period of stay in the transit, which cannot be more than 3 days for each visit. For a stay in India beyond 3 days, a visa of the appropriate category should be obtained.

Persons in direct transit through India:

1.Travel by Air:

A Transit Visa is not required by a foreigner passing through, in direct transit by air, and traveling onward through India, provided he/she does not leave the specified precincts of the airport up to 24 hours.

Foreigners are permitted to stay in the designated area of the Airport for the purpose of traveling via connecting flight from India for a period of 24 hours.

After 24 hours, a Transit Visa is required. Therefore, Transit Visa should be obtained if the waiting period is longer.

2. Travel by Sea:

A Transit Visa is not required by a foreigner who does not leave the ship while it halts at an Indian port. In case the foreigner intends to resume his/her journey from the same place by a scheduled Air service for which he/she holds a valid ticket, he/she will be allowed to leave the ship to proceed to the designated airport to catch his/her flight only with the prior approval of the competent authority.

Key points to remember:

• If the journey through India is not performed within period of the validity of transit visa, a fresh transit visa will be required.
• Validity of Transit visa is not extendable except in case of extreme emergency like strike, traffic, disruption, inclement weather, illness etc.
• For a stay in India beyond 3 days, a visa of appropriate category should be obtained

For more information, please visit the website page of Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India: https://boi.gov.in/boi/contents/travelling-to-india/foreigners/transit-via-india

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