Visiting the Kumbh From Abroad: Visas, Money and Etiquette

• Apply only at indianvisaonline.gov.in. The Bureau of Immigration says no agent is authorised to charge for an express e-Visa or e-Arrival card.
• Your passport needs six months’ validity when you apply and two blank pages. Each person, children included, needs their own passport and e-Visa.
• On a 1-year or 5-year e-Tourist Visa, each visit may last up to 90 days, or 180 days for US, UK, Canadian and Japanese nationals.
• You may stay no more than 180 days in a calendar year on tourist visas. The e-Visa cannot be extended or converted, and needs no registration within these limits.
• OCI cardholders need no visa. Travel on your foreign passport with your OCI card, keep both with you in India, and submit the e-Arrival card.
• Citizens of Nepal and Bhutan arriving from their own country need no passport or visa, only an approved photo ID showing nationality. From anywhere else they need a passport.
• Visa on arrival is only for nationals of Japan, South Korea and the UAE, at listed airports such as Delhi and Mumbai. UAE nationals need an earlier Indian visa.
• People of Pakistani nationality or origin cannot use the e-Visa and apply through an Indian mission. A Bureau of Immigration notice revoked existing visas of Pakistani nationals from 27 April 2025, with some exceptions.
• The Bureau of Immigration’s e-Visa entry list, updated 12 October 2026, names 37 airports, including Navi Mumbai and Bhopal, and 12 land ports such as Raxaul and Rupaidiha.
• The e-Visa site’s own FAQ still lists 33 airports and says you cannot enter by land, so check the current list before you plan an overland arrival.
• If you were in a yellow fever endemic country in the 6 days before arrival, you must carry a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate, or you may be quarantined for up to 6 days.
• On any visa, and on an OCI card, foreign visitors may not preach religious ideologies, make speeches in religious places or hand out religious material.
• A visa does not guarantee entry: the immigration officer decides at the airport.

Also from the e-Visa site:

• Check your country’s terms. Some nationalities get different e-Tourist terms. The e-Visa site shows yours.
• Check your passport. Your passport must be valid for at least six months when you apply and have at least two blank pages.
• Apply for each person. Each person needs their own passport and their own e-Visa, children included.
• Pay only the official fee. The fee depends on your country and is not refunded. There is no official express or emergency fee.
• Know the limits. An e-Visa cannot be extended or changed into another visa. If you have a defence, military, security or police background, or hold an official or diplomatic passport, the site says you cannot use an e-Visa; apply for a regular visa.
• Pack your papers. If you are coming from a country with yellow fever, carry your yellow fever vaccination card.
• On arrival. Your biometric details are taken at immigration when you arrive. You can also fill in the e-Arrival card online within 72 hours before you land.