You booked the flight. You mapped out the Golden Triangle. Then the visa application hits a wall at 2 a.m. because the payment gateway timed out or the passport scan is “unacceptable.” The India e-Visa is not hard to get—most rejections come from the same five errors repeated by thousands of travelers every month. This guide fixes those errors before you click submit.
The Real Reason Applications Fail: Data Mismatch
The Indian Bureau of Immigration runs a strict automated check. If the name on your passport does not match the name on the application exactly—including middle names, hyphens, and spacing—the system flags it. You do not get a refund. You start over.
Most travelers think they filled out the form correctly. They did not. They typed “John Michael Smith” when the passport says “John M Smith.” Or they reversed the given name and surname fields because the form layout confused them. The computer does not care about intent. It cares about binary equality.
Here is the fix. Open your passport to the machine-readable zone (MRZ) at the bottom of the photo page. Copy the name exactly as it appears there, character for character. That is the only source of truth. If your passport has no surname printed, type a hyphen (-) in the surname field. Do not leave it blank. Do not type “LNU” (Last Name Unknown) unless the official instructions tell you to.
This single step prevents more rejections than any other advice you will read online. The Indian e-Visa system is not forgiving. It is a government database, not a customer service chatbot.
Passport Scan Rules That Trip People Up
The upload portal rejects blurry scans, cropped edges, and photos taken with a phone flash. You need a flatbed scanner or a high-resolution phone scan in direct daylight. The passport bio page must be fully visible, including the machine-readable lines at the bottom. No fingers in the frame. No shadows across the photo. The file must be a PDF, JPEG, or PNG under 300 KB in size. If the file is larger, compress it with a free tool like TinyPNG before uploading.
Many travelers also upload the wrong page. They scan the front cover or the last page. The system wants the bio-data page—the one with your photo, name, passport number, and expiration date. If you upload the wrong page, the application goes into “pending review” limbo. That limbo can last two weeks. You do not have two weeks if your flight is in three days.
The photo requirements are equally strict. A white background. No glasses. No headwear except for religious reasons. Ears visible. Neutral expression. The photo must be square, at least 350 x 350 pixels, and under 1 MB. If you do not have a compliant photo, use a passport photo app like Passport Photo Maker or visit a local pharmacy that prints visa photos.
Pro tip: Take the photo against a plain white wall in the morning. Afternoon light creates shadows on one side of the face, which the software interprets as a beard or a scar. That triggers a manual review. Manual reviews are slow. Automated approvals are fast.
Which Visa Type Actually Matches Your Trip
You do not need a tourist e-Visa if you are visiting family. You need an e-Conference visa or an e-Medical visa for certain activities. Choosing the wrong category is a guaranteed rejection. Here is the breakdown that saves you time.
| Visa Type | Who Needs It | Max Stay | Entries | Processing Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| e-Tourist Visa (30 days) | Sightseeing, casual visits | 30 days | Double | 3-5 business days |
| e-Tourist Visa (1 year) | Multiple trips in one year | 90 days per visit | Multiple | 3-5 business days |
| e-Business Visa | Meetings, conferences, trade | 180 days | Multiple | 3-5 business days |
| e-Medical Visa | Medical treatment at recognized hospitals | 60 days | Triple | 3-5 business days |
| e-Conference Visa | Government-sponsored conferences | 30 days | Single | 3-5 business days |
The 30-day e-Tourist visa is the most common. It allows two entries, which is enough for most travelers doing a quick Nepal or Sri Lanka side trip. The 1-year visa costs more but makes sense if you plan to return for a wedding or a second trip within 12 months. Do not buy the 1-year visa for a single 10-day trip. You are wasting money.
For business travelers, the e-Business visa requires an invitation letter from the Indian company. Without that letter, the application fails. Get the letter first. Fill out the form second.
The Payment Trap and the “Pending” Status
You fill out everything correctly. You hit submit. The payment page loads. You enter your credit card. The screen refreshes. Nothing happens. You refresh again. Now you have two pending charges and no confirmation.
This is the most common technical failure in the India e-Visa system. The payment gateway—run by SBIePay or Axis Bank—times out under heavy load. The application stays in “pending payment” status. You cannot edit it. You cannot resubmit it. You have to wait 24 hours for the session to expire, then start a new application.
Here is how to avoid it. Use a desktop browser, not a phone. Use Chrome or Firefox, not Safari. Disable ad blockers and VPNs. The Indian government portal blocks many VPN IP addresses for security reasons. If you are in a country with strict internet controls, use a reputable VPN with an Indian server only for the payment step, then turn it off after confirmation.
After payment, you get two emails: a payment receipt and an application acknowledgment. Save both as PDFs. Print them. You will not need them at the airport if the e-Visa is approved, but if the system loses your record, those PDFs are your only proof.
If your status says “Granted,” you are done. If it says “Pending” for more than 5 business days, email the Indian e-Visa support desk at [email protected]. Do not call. The phone lines are overloaded. Email gets a response within 48 hours in most cases.
When NOT to Use the e-Visa
The e-Visa is not a universal solution. You must apply for a regular paper visa if any of these apply to you.
- You hold a diplomatic or official passport.
- You are traveling for journalism, filmmaking, or research.
- You plan to stay more than 90 days continuously.
- You want to visit restricted areas like Arunachal Pradesh or parts of Ladakh that require Inner Line Permits.
- You have a Pakistani passport or Pakistani ancestry. The rules are different and require a paper visa.
- You are entering India by land from Pakistan or Bangladesh. The e-Visa is only valid at designated airports and seaports.
If you fall into one of these categories, do not waste time on the e-Visa portal. Go to the nearest Indian embassy or use a registered visa agency like iVisa or VisaHQ. The extra cost is worth avoiding a rejected application and a lost application fee.
Also, the e-Visa is not extendable. You cannot convert it to a work visa or a student visa once you are inside India. You must leave the country and reapply. If you think you might want to stay longer, apply for a paper visa from the start.
Bottom line: The e-Visa is for tourists, business visitors, and medical patients on short trips. For everything else, the paper visa is the only legal path.