Now Reading: India launches e-Visa transfer service for new passports
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India launches e-Visa transfer service for new passports
India has launched an online e-Visa transfer facility for foreign nationals who obtain a new passport while holding a valid one-year or five-year Indian e-Visa or Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). The service,…
India has launched an online e-Visa transfer facility for foreign nationals who obtain a new passport while holding a valid one-year or five-year Indian e-Visa or Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). The service, available on the Indian Visa Online portal, covers cases where the old passport was lost, stolen, or not returned to the holder. Shorter visas of 30 days or three months are not eligible for transfer.
Applicants must upload a recent photograph and a copy of the new passport's biographical page. Travellers who still have their old passport with a valid visa can continue to carry both documents when entering India. The Indian government has not yet published the processing timeline or applicable fees for the transfer service.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The e-Visa transfer facility solves a practical gap for frequent travellers whose passport is lost or stolen while their existing Indian visa remains valid. Until now, such travellers had to apply for a fresh visa, losing both time and the fee paid on the original authorisation. The restriction to one-year and five-year e-Visas suggests the government is targeting business travellers and regular visitors rather than short-term tourists. India's e-Visa scheme, launched in 2014 and now extended to over 160 countries, processes millions of applications annually, and the absence of a published processing timeline or fee is unusual for a digital government service. The home ministry will likely update the portal with these details once the system is fully operational, as applicants currently face uncertainty on cost and turnaround time.
Source: businesstoday.in
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
