Lok Sabha Question No. 1357 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-18
Subject: E-Visa
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: ANIL SHIROLE, LALLU SINGH, K. MARAGATHAM, RITI PATHAK, George Baker, PARBHUBHAI NAGARBHAI VASAVA, RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1357

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 18 TH  DECEMBER, 2018/ AGRAHAYANA 27, 1940 (SAKA)

E-VISA

1357.      SHRI ANIL SHIROLE:

SHRI LALLU SINGH:

SHRIMATI K. MARAGATHAM:

SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK:

SHRI GEORGE BAKER:

SHRI PARBHUBHAI NAGARBHAI VASAVA:

SHRIMATI RAKSHATAI KHADSE:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)  the  salient  features  of  the  visa  on  the  arrival  policy  alongwith  entry points designated for e-visa and number of foreigners issued the said visa during each of the last three years and the current year;

- (b) the details of the number of countries involved under this policy so far;
- (c) whether the Government has included/proposes to include some more countries under this policy and simplify the procedure for e-visa and make it more secure;

(d) if so, the details thereof, countrywise;

(e) whether the Government has recently got some relaxation from any of the countries under this policy; and

(f) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

(a): Visa-on-Arrival (VOA) is granted to the nationals of Japan and South

Korea.  VOA  provides  double  entry  for a period not exceeding 60 days for

## L.S.US.Q.NO.1357 FOR 18.12.2018

business,  tourism,  conference  and  medical  purposes  at  6  designated international airports namely, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.  e-Visa has 5 subcategories, namely, (1) e-Tourist Visa (2) e-Business Visa (3) e-Conference Visa  (4) e-Medical Visa and (5) e-Medical Attendant Visa. The entry points designated for e-Visa are 26 airports -(1) Delhi  (2)  Mumbai    (3)  Chennai  (4)  Kolkata    (5)  Thiruvananthapuram      (6) Bengaluru      (7)  Hyderabad      (8)  Cochin    (9)  Goa  (10)  Ahmedabad  (11) Amritsar (12) Gaya  (13) Jaipur (14) Lucknow    (15) Trichy  (16) Varanasi (17)  Calicut  (18)  Mangalore  (19)  Pune  (20)  Nagpur  (21)  Coimbatore  (22) Bagdogra    (23)  Guwahati    (24)  Chandigarh  (25)  Vishakhapatnam&  (26) Madurai and 5 seaports -(1) Mumbai  (2) Cochin  (3) Mormugao  (4) Chennai and (5) New Mangalore. Details of e-Visas and VOA issued are:

|   Year | No. of e- Visas issued               | No. of V.O.A. issued             |
|--------|--------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
|   2015 | 5,16,510                             | --                               |
|   2016 | 11,80,933                            | 6,827                            |
|   2017 | 19,01,420                            | 12,024                           |
|   2018 | 21,82,532 (up to 30 th November 2018 | 6,172 (up to 14 th December 2018 |

## L.S.US.Q.NO.1357 FOR 18.12.2018

(b) to (d): e-Visa  facility  has  been  extended  to  the  nationals  of  166 countries  (As  per  annexure).  Review  of  visa  policy  to  include  more countries  under  e-visa  regime  is  a  continuous  process  and  decided  in consultation with all the stake holders on the considerations of reciprocity, security and national interests.

(e) to (f): 'E-  Visa'  policy  was launched by Government to boost inbound tourism to India. This policy was announced unilaterally without envisaging reciprocity from any country. Recently, Myanmar has announced Visa-on-Arrival policy for Indian nationals.

******

## List of 166 countries whose nationals will be eligible for grant of e-Visa is as follows:

|   S. No. | Country                |
|----------|------------------------|
|        1 | Andorra                |
|        2 | Angola                 |
|        3 | Anguilla               |
|        4 | Antigua & Barbuda      |
|        5 | Albania                |
|        6 | Austria                |
|        7 | Argentina              |
|        8 | Armenia                |
|        9 | Aruba                  |
|       10 | Australia              |
|       11 | Azerbaijan             |
|       12 | Bahamas                |
|       13 | Barbados               |
|       14 | Belgium                |
|       15 | Belize                 |
|       16 | Bolivia                |
|       17 | Bosnia & Herzegovina   |
|       18 | Botswana               |
|       19 | Brazil                 |
|       20 | Brunei                 |
|       21 | Bulgaria               |
|       22 | Burundi                |
|       23 | Cambodia               |
|       24 | Cameron Union Republic |
|       25 | Canada                 |
|       26 | Cape Verde             |
|       27 | Cayman Island          |
|       28 | Chile                  |
|       29 | China                  |
|       30 | China- SAR Hongkong    |
|       31 | China- SAR Macau       |
|       32 | Colombia               |
|       33 | Comoros                |
|       34 | Cook Islands           |
|       35 | Costa Rica             |
|       36 | Cote d'lvoire          |
|       37 | Croatia                |
|       38 | Cuba                   |

## ANNEXURE L.S.US.Q.NO.1357 FOR 18.12.2018

| 39.     | Cyprus               |
|---------|----------------------|
| 40.     | Czech Republic       |
| 41.     | Denmark              |
| 42.     | Djibouti             |
| 43.     | Dominica             |
| 44.     | Dominican Republic   |
| 45.     | East Timor           |
| 46.     | Ecuador              |
| 47.     | El Salvador          |
| 48.     | Estonia              |
| 49.     | Eritrea              |
| 50.     | Fiji                 |
| 51.     | Finland              |
| 52.     | France               |
| 53.     | Gabon                |
| 54.     | Gambia               |
| 55.     | Georgia              |
| 56.     | Germany              |
| 57.     | Ghana                |
| 58.     | Greece               |
| 59.     | Grenada              |
| 60.     | Guatemala            |
| 61.     | Guinea               |
| 62.     | Guyana               |
| 63.     | Haiti                |
| 64.     | Honduras             |
| 65.     | Hungary              |
| 66.     | Iceland              |
| 67.     | Indonesia            |
| 68.     | Ireland              |
| 69.     | Israel               |
| 70.     | Italy                |
| 71.     | Jamaica              |
| 72.     | Japan                |
| 73.     | Jordan               |
| 74.     | Kenya                |
| 75.     | Kiribati             |
| 76.     | Laos                 |
| 77.     | Latvia               |
| 78.     | Lesotho              |
| 79.     | Liberia              |
| 80.     | Liechtenstein        |
| 81.     | Lithuania            |
| 82. 83. | Luxembourg Macedonia |
| 84.     | Madagascar           |

| 85.       | Malaysia                                |
|-----------|-----------------------------------------|
| 86.       | Malawi                                  |
| 87.       | Mali                                    |
| 88.       | Malta                                   |
| 89.       | Marshall Islands                        |
| 90.       | Mauritius                               |
| 91.       | Mexico                                  |
| 92.       | Micronesia                              |
| 93.       | Moldova                                 |
| 94.       | Monaco                                  |
| 95.       | Mongolia                                |
| 96.       | Montenegro                              |
| 97.       | Montserrat                              |
| 98.       | Mozambique                              |
| 99.       | Myanmar                                 |
| 100.      | Namibia                                 |
| 101.      | Nauru                                   |
| 102.      | Netherlands                             |
| 103.      | New Zealand                             |
| 104.      | Nicaragua                               |
| 105.      | Niger Republic                          |
| 106.      | Niue Island                             |
| 107.      | Norway                                  |
| 108.      | Oman                                    |
| 109.      | Palau                                   |
| 110.      | Palestine                               |
| 111.      | Panama                                  |
| 112.      | Papua New Guinea                        |
| 113.      | Paraguay                                |
| 114.      | Peru                                    |
| 115.      | Philippines                             |
| 116.      | Poland                                  |
| 117. 118. | Portugal                                |
|           | Republic of Korea                       |
| 119.      | Romania                                 |
| 120.      | Russia                                  |
| 121. 122. | Rwanda                                  |
| 123.      | Saint Christopher and Nevis Saint Lucia |
| 124.      |                                         |
|           | Saint Vincent & the Grenadines          |
| 125.      | San Marino                              |
|           | Serbia                                  |
| 128.      |                                         |

## ANNEXURE L.S.US.Q.NO.1357 FOR 18.12.2018

|   129. | Seychelles                     |
|--------|--------------------------------|
|    130 | Sierra Leone                   |
|    131 | Singapore                      |
|    132 | Slovenia                       |
|    133 | Slovakia                       |
|    134 | Solomon Islands                |
|    135 | South Africa                   |
|    136 | Spain                          |
|    137 | Sri Lanka                      |
|    138 | Suriname                       |
|    139 | Swaziland                      |
|    140 | Switzerland                    |
|    141 | Sweden                         |
|    142 | Taiwan                         |
|    143 | Tanzania                       |
|    144 | Tajikistan                     |
|    145 | Thailand                       |
|    146 | Tonga                          |
|    147 | Trinidad & Tobago              |
|    148 | Turks & Caicos Island          |
|    149 | Tuvalu                         |
|    150 | UAE                            |
|    151 | Ukraine                        |
|    152 | United Kingdom(UK)             |
|    153 | United States of America (USA) |
|    154 | Uruguay                        |
|    155 | Uzbekistan                     |
|    156 | Vanuatu                        |
|    157 | Vatican City-Holy See          |
|    158 | Venezuela                      |
|    159 | Vietnam                        |
|    160 | Zambia                         |
|    161 | Zimbabwe                       |
|    162 | Uganda                         |
|    163 | Kazakhstan                     |
|    164 | Iran                           |
|    165 | Kyrgyzstan                     |
|    166 | Qatar                          |

- --------