🇮🇳India

Decision flow

Your regime depends on nationality, purpose and prior visa history. Work down the steps.

1. Visa on Arrival (VOA)? As of 29 April 2025 and through 2026 this is reserved for citizens of Japan and South Korea. UAE citizens qualify only if previously granted an Indian e-Visa or classic paper visa. Entry is permitted at six airports only: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The visa granted is valid up to 60 days and allows dual entry.
2. e-Visa? Tourists from more than 166 countries - EU member states, the USA, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia - apply online through the official portal, no later than 4 days before departure. Categories are e-Tourist (valid 30 days, 1 year or 5 years), e-Business and e-Medical. Citizens of the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran and Qatar have had the e-Visa suspended since 1 August 2021 and need a classic visa.
3. Pakistani citizenship or origin? Anyone holding a Pakistani passport, or whose parents or grandparents were born in Pakistan, is excluded from both the e-Visa and VOA. Apply for a classic paper visa at an Indian diplomatic mission in your country of residence; the process carries intensive security screening.
4. Otherwise, a classic paper visa. Also required for stays over 180 days and for employment, study or journalism. Filed in person at a diplomatic mission or an authorized visa centre such as VFS Global.

The passport itself

At least 6 months of validity from the date you arrive, and at least 2 blank pages. Airlines enforce this at check-in.

Entry formalities applicable to everyone

Digital Arrival Card (e-Arrival Card)

Paper is gone. Introduced 1 October 2025, the transitional period ended 31 March 2026, and since 1 April 2026 the system is fully electronic.

• Who - all foreign nationals, and since 4 October 2025 also holders of OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) cards.
• When - no later than 72 hours before the scheduled arrival time.
• Where - free, on the Bureau of Immigration portal (https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival) or the Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app.
• What it asks - personal and passport details, flight number, purpose of travel, contact details and the exact address of your accommodation in India.
• What you get - a QR code to show the immigration officer, printed or on your phone.

Health declaration (Air Suvidha 2.0)

• Only for Ebola-risk arrivals - currently the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan per the World Health Organization.
• File 72 hours before arrival on the Air Suvidha 2.0 portal (https://airsuvidha.civilaviation.gov.in/) with a detailed travel history for the past 21 days.
• Everyone else needs no health declaration in 2026.

Customs limits and the Baggage Rules, 2026

• Gifts and new goods - up to 25,000 INR total for foreign tourists, 75,000 INR for persons of Indian origin or foreigners on a non-tourist visa. Allowances cannot be pooled between travelling companions.
• Alcohol - 2 litres per person.
• Tobacco - 100 cigarettes, 25 cigars, or 125 grams of loose tobacco.
• Gold and silver - importing any quantity in a form other than personal jewellery, such as bars or coins, is prohibited and subject to high duty. Used personal jewellery is duty-exempt, capped at 40 grams for women and 20 grams for men for residents returning after more than 1 year abroad.
• Electronics - over-18s may bring one new laptop or tablet duty-free.
• Cash - declare banknotes over 5,000 USD, or foreign currency including traveler's cheques totalling over 10,000 USD. Use the government ATITHI 2.0 app from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs to pre-file the declaration before boarding. Taking the Green Channel with undeclared goods or cash over the limit means immediate confiscation and criminal prosecution; on the Red Channel, customs officers' body-worn cameras are mandatory in 2026 to curb corrupt conduct.

Mandatory registration (Form C / Form III)

Your hotel files this, not you. Every commercial accommodation provider, private host including Airbnb ones, inpatient healthcare facility and educational institution is legally required to report a foreign national's stay under the Foreigners Act 1946 and the 1992 rules, updated by the Immigration and Foreigners Rules 2025.

• Filed online as Form C - Form III in the systems from 2025 onward - through the Ministry of Home Affairs portal (https://indianfrro.gov.in/frro/FormC).
• Within 24 hours of physical check-in, and since the 2025 amendment the provider must also report the exact time and details of your departure.
• No FRRO visit - a tourist visa with a planned stay up to 180 days needs no personal registration with the foreigners' police; Form C/III is sufficient.

What matters in practice

From r/india_tourism and r/delhi, the three things that bite in the first 24 hours:

• Budget hotels may refuse you at check-in. Under 3 stars, especially around Paharganj in Delhi, staff turn foreigners away claiming "the Form C system isn't working" or that foreigners are not allowed. The real reason is usually reluctance to fill the form, no FRRO registration, or unfamiliarity. A non-refundable booking from an Indian portal (MakeMyTrip, Goibibo) is practically impossible to refund on the spot - book through Booking.com instead, where support will compel the hotel to arrange replacement accommodation of the same category.
• The e-Arrival Card does not replace the visa. Immigration requires both, separately. Without an approved e-Visa you will not be allowed to board; without the e-Arrival Card you will be held in the arrivals hall filling the form on your phone over unstable airport Wi-Fi.
• Airport SIM counters want cash. They claim to take cards; in practice tourist SIMs are cash-only in INR. Withdraw from an arrivals-hall ATM before you join the operator's queue.

• Satellite phones are illegal without a licence. Travellers have been detained at arrival for carrying an Iridium or Thuraya handset, including ones being taken on to a trek.
• E-cigarettes and vaping devices are banned. The 2019 prohibition covers import and possession, and devices are seized.
• Drones need prior permission from the authorities before they are brought into the country.
• The allowance is 100 cigarettes and 2 litres of alcohol per adult, plus a duty-free value on other goods that depends on where you have come from.
• Cash equivalent to USD 5,000 or more must be declared, and there is a separate and stricter rule on carrying Indian rupees in and out.
• Gold above the personal allowance is dutiable, and the jewellery you are wearing is included in the calculation.

Health, insurance and where to be treated

Recommended vaccinations

See a travel medicine doctor 4 to 8 weeks before departure.

• Hepatitis A and Typhoid - essential. Both spread through contaminated water and food, a common risk in India.
• Tetanus, Diphtheria and Whooping Cough - check your routine boosters are current.
• Yellow Fever certificate - strictly required by Indian customs on arrival from anyone, children included, who spent time in the last 6 days in a yellow-fever country: selected states of sub-Saharan Africa and South/Central America.

Prevention of dengue fever and malaria

Mosquito-borne disease is rising, and dengue no longer waits for the monsoon. Dengue, malaria and chikungunya all occur, with dengue now year-round.

• Vaccines - the Indian regulator CDSCO approved Qdenga in April 2026 for ages 4 to 60. A domestic vaccine, DengiAll by Panacea Biotec, is in Phase III trials with release planned for 2027.
• Repellent - use up to a 50% concentration of DEET.
• Dawn and dusk - mosquito activity peaks; wear light-coloured clothing with long sleeves and long trousers.

Water and food

• Tap water is strictly not drinkable. Do not even brush your teeth with it. Use water from originally sealed plastic bottles for drinking and hygiene.
• Avoid ice in drinks and raw fruit or vegetables washed in tap water.

Top private healthcare facilities for foreigners

City government hospitals are overloaded and unsuitable for acute care of foreigners. Go to a private clinic with an international patients department.

• Delhi and Gurugram
• Medanta - The Medicity (Gurugram) - one of the best and most modern hospital complexes in the world, with a full international coordination team. +91 124 414 1414.
• Max Super Speciality Hospital (Saket, New Delhi) - highly rated, JCI-accredited. +91 11 2651 5050.
• Indraprastha Apollo Hospital (Sarita Vihar, New Delhi) - top-tier care with full assistance on medical formalities. +91 11 2692 5801.
• Mumbai
• Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (Andheri West) - JCI-accredited, 24/7 emergency care. +91 22 4269 6969.
• Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre (Bandra West) - excellent private clinic in the western part of the city. +91 22 6931 8000.

Delhi

• Aerocity - a modern, tightly secured hotel district right next to Terminal 3, full of international four- and five-star chains. It is quiet, clean and completely insulated from the city, which is exactly the point on a first night or before an early flight. It is also the most expensive of the three.
• Connaught Place - the commercial and historic centre, on the Airport Express and the main metro lines, with a deep spread of mid-range hotels, restaurants and shops. The best base if you want to actually use the city rather than recover from it.
• Paharganj - directly opposite New Delhi Railway Station, and the cheapest accommodation in the city. It is also loud, dense and dirty, and it is where the fake-tourist-office operation is concentrated. Experienced travellers manage it fine. It is a bad first night.

Mumbai

• Colaba - the southern historic centre. The Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Palace are within walking distance, and the area is well policed and easy to move around on foot.
• Bandra and BKC - BKC is the modern financial district with international hotels; Bandra next door is residential and lively, with the cafés and restaurants. Comfortable and secure, but an hour from the southern sights in traffic.
• Andheri East - near the airport, and the sensible answer if you land late and have a domestic flight in the morning. Nothing to do there, which is not the point.

At check-in

• Your passport is scanned and your stay is registered. Every accommodation provider, private hosts included, must file Form C with the immigration authorities within 24 hours of check-in.
• Some budget properties refuse foreign guests rather than handle that filing, and you may only discover it on arrival. Book through an international platform that will rehouse you, and have the booking confirmation with a phone number you can call.
• See the everyday prices section for what things actually cost - hotel rates in India swing enormously by area, season and how far ahead you book.

Two routes, and they solve different problems

• An international data eSIM bought before departure. Saily sells data-only profiles with no identity check, no passport scan and no Indian approval process. Install by QR code at home; it activates when the plane lands and the phone finds the partner network. You skip the queue entirely and can order a car before you leave the terminal. The limitation is real: Saily's India plans include no phone number and no SMS. Uber and Ola both send a one-time password to an Indian mobile number at sign-in, so a data-only eSIM does not get you into either app.
• A local prepaid SIM. Much cheaper, gives you an Indian number, and costs you paperwork and time.

Saily plans for India

Local operators

Airport kiosks charge more than a city store for the same thing - you are paying for being able to do it on arrival.

What registration takes

• The original passport, a printed copy of your visa, an address in India (your hotel booking is fine), and a photo taken at the counter.
• Then you wait. Activation is not instant: the network typically appears within a few hours and data often only the following morning. Plan your first evening as though you have no local SIM, because you probably will not.
• Use an airport kiosk or an official Airtel, Jio or Vi store. Small independent phone shops handle foreigners' registrations badly and often submit the immigration details wrongly, which leaves the card permanently unactivated and you with no recourse.
• A physical SIM cannot easily be converted to an eSIM profile - it means a branch visit and a further wait, so it is not worth attempting on a short trip.

Short verdict

• For the first day or two: the eSIM, bought before you fly. It costs more per gigabyte and buys you a working phone from the moment you land.
• Staying more than a couple of weeks: add a local SIM from an official store in the city, both for the price and for the Indian number the apps want.

Sockets in India are Type C, D and M at 230 V, 50 Hz - the round three-pin British colonial pattern in two sizes, plus two-pin outlets for Europlugs.

• Type D is the everyday socket - three round pins in a triangle, the fat one on top being earth. Type M is the same shape scaled up for air conditioners and geysers.
• A Europlug fits the small holes of a Type D socket loosely. It works, it is common, and it is a poor contact that can arc; the Bureau of Indian Standards has been pushing it out since 2015.
• British, American and Australian plugs need an adapter. A UK Type G plug does not fit a Type D socket despite the shared ancestry.
• 230 V means American 120 V-only equipment needs a converter.
• Hotels above budget level fit universal sockets in most rooms; guesthouses will have plain Type D and nothing else.

Alcohol, which is a state matter

There is no national alcohol law in India. Each state writes its own, and the differences are large enough to matter.

• Dry year-round: Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland, Mizoram and the union territory of Lakshadweep. Production, sale and consumption are prohibited outright. Bihar and Gujarat enforce this with imprisonment, not just fines.
• Gujarat will issue you a permit. Foreign visitors can apply for a temporary liquor permit on production of a passport with a valid visa.
• Ages vary. Delhi: 25 for spirits. Maharashtra: 25 for spirits, 21 for beer and wine - and the state formally requires a personal consumption licence, which is generally ignored for visitors in ordinary bars but can be produced as grounds for a fine during a police raid.
• Three national dry days: 26 January (Republic Day), 15 August (Independence Day) and 2 October (Gandhi Jayanti). Nothing is sold or served anywhere in the country, hotel bars included. Around twenty more dry days a year are declared at state level, and further ones during elections - check the local calendar if a drink matters to your plans.

Drones: don't

• A foreign visitor cannot fly a drone in India. There is no tourist pilot permit, so there is no legal route to it whatever your qualifications at home.
• Importing one has been prohibited since 2022. Bringing a personal drone normally means customs seals or detains it and returns it when you leave the country - unless you hold advance DGFT import clearance, which is a paperwork exercise, not a formality.
• Flying one anyway risks arrest, deportation and heavy fines under the aviation security laws, and the sensitive-zone list includes airports, military sites, government buildings and historical monuments.

Etiquette

• Temples, shrines, mosques and gurdwaras: shoulders and knees covered, shoes off at the entrance.
• Use the right hand for eating, for handing over money or documents, and for paying. The left is traditionally considered unclean, and using it reads as rude even when nobody says so.

Everyday practicalities

• Power - sockets are type C, D and M at 230 V, 50 Hz. A European two-pin plug goes into a type C socket but not into the earthed type D ones, which are common - bring a type D adapter rather than assuming.
• Time - UTC+5:30, no daylight saving. That is +4.5 hours from central Europe in winter and +3.5 in summer.
• Opening hours - shops and bazaars roughly 10:00 or 11:00 until about 20:30. Government offices and banks 10:00 to 17:00 on weekdays. Sunday is quiet in many commercial districts.
• Toilets - street facilities are poor. Use shopping malls, international chains or the lobby of a four- or five-star hotel, and carry your own paper and hand sanitiser.

Cash from ATMs

Withdraw large, withdraw rarely. Most international Visa and Mastercard cards work at the major Indian banks' ATMs, but two limits work against you and they compound.

• A flat fee per withdrawal. Indian banks charge foreign cards a fixed surcharge - Federal Bank's published schedule puts it at 200 INR per successful withdrawal, and the other large banks are in the same region.
• A low cap per withdrawal. Most machines limit a foreign card to about 10,000 INR at a time. More cash than that means repeating the transaction, and paying the fee again.

Together these mean the cost of cash is dominated by how often you withdraw, not how much.

Dynamic currency conversion

Always decline settlement in your home currency and choose INR. ATMs and card terminals present home-currency settlement as the transparent, reassuring option. It is not: the rate is set by the machine's operator with a margin built in, and choosing rupees leaves the conversion to your own bank, which is almost always cheaper.

Cash and the state of the notes

• Use licensed exchange counters at the airport, or an authorised bank branch in the city.
• Avoid street booths. The recurring complaints are miscounted stacks and damaged notes handed to foreigners who will not notice.
• Check every note. Indian merchants are strict about banknote condition and will refuse a torn, taped or heavily marked note outright. If a counter hands you one, give it back there and then - once you have walked away it is effectively worthless.

UPI, and how a visitor uses it

Almost everyone in India takes a QR code, from restaurants down to chai stalls and rickshaw drivers. The system is UPI, and the National Payments Corporation of India built UPI One World so visitors without an Indian bank account can use it.

• Where - authorised prepaid-instrument issuers at the major airports, Delhi included.
• What you need - your passport and valid visa, uploaded in the app, plus a selfie for verification. The app is usually CheqUPI by Transcorp.
• Loading it - an international debit or credit card, or foreign cash at the counter. Maximum 25,000 INR per top-up and 50,000 INR a month.
• Using it - person-to-merchant payments against any UPI QR code in the country, in cities and villages alike.
• Leaving - unspent balance is refunded in foreign currency on departure under RBI foreign-exchange rules. Do it at the counter, with time to spare.

Tipping

• Restaurants - about 10 %, unless a service charge of 5 to 10 % is already on the bill.
• Hotel porters - 100 to 200 INR for taking luggage to the room.

• Solo traveller with light luggage - in Delhi, the Airport Express metro: about 20 minutes, roughly 60 INR, and immune to the traffic. In Mumbai, an app car outside the rush hours, or a rickshaw if you are heading to the northern suburbs.
• Family with children and heavy suitcases - book a transfer in advance rather than working it out in the pickup zone. The cheapest app categories in Delhi are CNG conversions with the tank in the boot, so four people with suitcases means two cars and a luggage shuffle.
• Arriving late at night - the prepaid taxi counters inside the terminal building, and nothing else. The counter fixes the price and records the vehicle; a driver who approaches you on the forecourt does neither.
• Lowest budget - in Delhi the metro at roughly 60 INR; in Mumbai a prepaid black-and-yellow Kaali-Peeli without air conditioning, roughly 650 to 900 INR into South Mumbai.

Two things about the apps

• Uber and Ola both need an Indian phone number to receive the one-time password at sign-in. Set up connectivity before you rely on either.
• Uber Auto books an auto-rickshaw through the app. Across short distances in Indian city traffic a rickshaw beats a car, and ordering it in the app removes the negotiation entirely.

• Ride-hailing apps: The main and most reliable platforms are the international Uber and the Indian Ola. For them to function fully and to authorize payment cards, you need an Indian SIM card in the phone (or working roaming) to receive the SMS with the one-time authorization code (OTP). The apps allow booking classic cars, but in many cities (including Delhi) also three-wheeled motorized auto-rickshaws (Uber Auto), which is the fastest way to cover short distances in heavy traffic.
• City metro and suburban trains: In Delhi, the modern, safe and air-conditioned DMRC metro system operates. To travel, you need to buy either individual tokens or get a rechargeable DMRC Smart Card. In Mumbai, the metro is still being expanded and has limited coverage; the main transport artery is the suburban (local) trains. However, these trains are extremely crowded during rush hour and pose an extreme safety risk for foreigners with zero experience.

FASTag on the windscreen for every national highway toll, and a strong case for hiring a driver instead.

• FASTag is mandatory. Cash lanes have largely gone from national highway plazas; hire cars have a tag and the charges are settled at the end.
• A car with a driver costs little more than the car alone and solves the traffic, the parking, the language and the accident liability at once. It is what residents do for long trips.
• Traffic drives on the left, and lane discipline, horn use and right of way work by negotiation rather than by rule.
• The alcohol limit is 0.03 %, with a first offence carrying a large fine and potential imprisonment.
• Avoid driving at night between cities. Unlit trucks, livestock and oncoming vehicles on the wrong carriageway are the reasons.

The first 48 hours are the exposed ones

Scams in India are almost entirely non-violent. They work through manufactured chaos, time pressure and confident misinformation, and they are aimed squarely at people who have just landed.

The closed-hotel scam

The most common one in Delhi, and the most effective. On the way in from the airport, the driver says the road to your hotel is blocked - police, a demonstration, a festival - or that the hotel is full, or has burned down. He then offers to take you to a "government-approved tourist office", where officials confirm the story and press you into cancelling your booking and buying an expensive tour to Rajasthan or Kashmir.

• They will offer to call the hotel to check. They dial a friend, who plays the receptionist and confirms everything. Call the number on your own booking confirmation, from your own phone.
• Delhi has exactly one official India Tourism office, at 88 Janpath. Every other "government approved" tourist office, and there is a cluster of them opposite the Paharganj entrance to New Delhi station, is a private agency.
• The defence is simply to refuse the detour. Insist the driver goes to the booked address without stopping anywhere.

The fake ride-hail at the airport

Someone in the official pickup zone presents themselves as a coordinator or as your driver and asks for your ride PIN. Once you are in the car the driver never opens the real app - the network is down, he says - and at the destination produces a screen showing four or five times the quoted fare.

Check the registration plate and the driver's photo in your own app before you get in. If either does not match, do not get in, whatever is said to you.

Fake ticket inspectors

At New Delhi Railway Station, men with official-looking badges and lanyards stop foreigners before the platform and tell them their ticket is invalid or needs stamping at a tourist office.

Real Indian train conductors work inside the train, in full uniform, with numbered badges and a seating chart, and they check everyone rather than singling out foreigners on a concourse.

The blessing

Near the Gateway of India in Mumbai, men presenting themselves as holy men offer a free blessing, mark your forehead and tie a red thread on your wrist - then demand payment, loudly, immediately.

Refuse the physical contact. Do not stop, do not engage, keep walking.

The roadside meal stop

Long-distance buses stop at particular roadside dhabas the driver has an arrangement with. Staff hurry you into ordering by saying the bus is about to leave, and no menu or price appears until the bill does.

Ask for a printed menu with prices before you order anything. If there is not one, do not eat there - the bus will wait longer than they say.

Emergency numbers

112 works free of charge even from a phone with no SIM card inserted.

• Single nationwide emergency number (universal line for police, ambulance and fire service): 112 (can be called free of charge even without a SIM card inserted).
• National Tourist Helpline: 1800-11-1363 or the short code 1363 (available 24 hours a day in 12 world languages including English, providing immediate help in emergencies, scams, or lost documents).

See the Health section for hospitals with 24/7 emergency departments in the major cities.

One number, several ways in

India consolidated its emergency numbers into 112, and the system behind it - the Emergency Response Support System - was built to accept an emergency however it arrives: voice calls, SMS, panic signals, emails and web requests, all on one platform. That matters in a country where a call is not always the easiest thing to make, and where a signal may only be good enough for a text.

Calls are answered by a Public Safety Answering Point in the state capital, which locates you and dispatches the nearest emergency response unit; the vehicles report their positions back, which is what makes "nearest" mean anything.

The app is worth ten minutes at the airport

The 112 India app adds a panic button that sends an SOS with your stored details - name, age, emergency contacts - alongside your location. For a visitor the value is not the button but the profile: the part of an emergency call that goes wrong here is the address, and the app removes it from the conversation.

Its SHOUT feature, for women, alerts registered volunteers in the vicinity at the same time as the control room.

Coverage of the app was built out state by state, so do not rely on it alone. Dial 112 first; use the app for the location and the profile it carries.

What a hospital will expect

Specialised treatment is concentrated in the major cities, and outside them the realistic plan for anything serious is transport rather than local care. Insurance that covers evacuation, not only treatment, is the difference between a bad day and a ruinous one - and the insurer wants the call early, ideally from the hospital, not a week later with a folder of receipts.