Roughly 30% of first-time India e-Visa applications get flagged for manual review or rejected outright. Not because the travelers are ineligible. Because the application portal is a finicky beast with zero tolerance for sloppy uploads.

I’ve walked three friends through this process in the last 18 months. Two got approved in under 24 hours. One spent three weeks fighting a rejection caused by a photo that was 2 pixels too small. This guide is the exact walkthrough I wish existed before any of us clicked ‘Apply.’

The One Thing You Must Know Before Starting

The official portal is indianvisaonline.gov.in. Not a third-party site. Not an ‘expedited service.’ The government site is ugly, slow, and occasionally crashes. That’s normal. The third-party sites that look prettier will charge you $40-$80 for the same thing you can do yourself for $25.

Here’s the real kicker: you cannot start and save your application. The portal times out after roughly 30 minutes of inactivity. Gather everything before you sit down.

What you need before you start

• Passport with at least 6 months validity from your arrival date
• Passport bio page scan (JPG, under 1MB, clear edges)
• Passport-style photo (square, white background, under 1MB)
• Debit or credit card that works for international transactions
• Your travel dates and first hotel address

I use a dedicated folder on my desktop called ‘India Visa’ with the photo and scan pre-renamed to ‘photo.jpg’ and ‘passport.jpg.’ Sounds obvious. But when the portal gives you 3 minutes to upload before timing out, you don’t want to be digging through Downloads.

The Photo Rules That Actually Reject Applications

This is where most people fail. Not the questions. The photo.

The Indian e-Visa system wants a square photo, minimum 350×350 pixels, maximum 1MB. That’s the official spec. But here’s what the spec doesn’t tell you: the automated checker is brutal about shadows, head size, and background color. Off-white is not white. Grey is not white. It must be pure white.

I tell people to use their phone, stand against a white wall in daylight, and then run the photo through a free tool like Remove.bg or Passport Photo Online. The latter has a specific India e-Visa template for about $7. Worth every cent if you’ve already been rejected once.

One friend used a photo from his wedding. Nice suit. Cropped it himself. Rejected because his head filled 85% of the frame. The system wants your head between 50-70% of the photo height. Not more. Not less.

Passport scan rules

The passport bio page scan must show all four edges of the page. No fingers in the shot. No glare on the MRZ lines at the bottom. Use a flatbed scanner if you have one. If you use a phone, lay the passport flat under a bright light and shoot from directly above. The system checks that the MRZ is machine-readable.

Step-by-Step: The Application Itself

I’ll walk through the actual form. It takes about 20 minutes if you have everything ready. The questions are straightforward, but a few trip people up.

1. Visa type selection

For tourism, select e-Tourist Visa. There are options for e-Business Visa, e-Medical Visa, and e-Conference Visa. If you’re visiting family or attending a wedding, that’s still tourism. Don’t overthink it.

2. Duration options

As of 2026, the e-Tourist Visa comes in three flavors:

• 30-day: Double entry, $25, valid from arrival date
• 1-year: Multiple entry, $40, continuous stay max 90 days per visit
• 5-year: Multiple entry, $80, continuous stay max 90 days per visit

If you’re doing a single trip under 30 days, take the 30-day. If you think you might return within a year, the 1-year is the smart play. The 5-year only makes sense for frequent travelers or those with family in India.

3. Personal details

Match your passport exactly. Middle name goes in the middle name field. If your passport has no middle name, leave it blank. Don’t put ‘N/A.’ The system reads ‘N/A’ as a name and flags it for mismatch.

4. Address in India

You need the name and address of where you’re staying first. If you haven’t booked yet, book a refundable hotel on Booking.com, use that address, and cancel later. The system doesn’t verify the booking. It just needs a plausible address.

5. Employment details

Be honest but simple. ‘Software Engineer’ is fine. ‘Unemployed’ is also fine. The system doesn’t judge. But don’t write ‘Self-employed consultant specializing in cross-border logistics’ when you’re between jobs. Keep it boring.

6. Previous visits to India

If you’ve been to India before, list the last visit. If not, check ‘No.’ This is not a trick question. Lying here is a genuine visa fraud issue.

The Payment Trap Nobody Mentions

The application fee is paid at the end. The portal redirects you to a payment gateway that looks like it’s from 2009. That’s normal. What’s not normal is the payment failing silently.

Here’s what happens: you enter your card details, click pay, and the page refreshes back to the application with no confirmation. Your card might have been charged. It might not have been. You have no idea.

Check your bank app immediately. If the charge shows as ‘pending,’ wait 24 hours before doing anything. If it shows as ‘completed’ but the application still says ‘unpaid,’ email the support address on the portal with your application ID and payment reference. Do not start a new application. Duplicate applications cause more delays.

I recommend using a credit card rather than debit. Credit cards handle international payment holds better, and if something goes wrong, you’re not out actual cash while you sort it out.

After You Submit: The Waiting Game

The official timeline is 72 hours. But here’s the reality I’ve seen across six applications: two came back in under 12 hours. Three took exactly 72 hours. One took 9 days because of a manual review triggered by a photo issue.

You’ll get an email with a PDF attachment: the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA). Print it. Yes, print it. The immigration officer at the airport in Delhi or Mumbai will want to see it. Screenshots on your phone work sometimes, but a printed copy is faster and doesn’t run out of battery.

Check the ETA immediately for errors. Name misspelled? Passport number wrong? Email the support address within 24 hours. Corrections after that window require a new application and a new fee.

What if you get rejected?

Rejections happen. The most common reasons: photo issues, passport scan issues, name mismatch, or previous visa overstay. If you’re rejected, you can reapply immediately. There’s no cooling-off period. Fix the issue and submit again. But don’t submit the same application twice. New application, new fee.

Common Pitfalls That Delay Approvals

Let me be direct about what actually goes wrong, based on the rejection emails I’ve seen.

The third-party site issue deserves more attention. Those sites are not scams, exactly. They do submit your application. But they charge a ‘service fee’ that can triple the cost. And they often ask for more personal data than necessary. The government portal is free to use. The only cost is the visa fee itself.

When the e-Visa Is NOT the Right Choice

The e-Visa is great for most tourists. But it’s not for everyone.

If you’re a journalist, photographer, or researcher, the e-Tourist Visa explicitly prohibits professional work. You need a regular visa through the embassy. Same for anyone traveling on diplomatic or official passports. And if you’re from a country not on the e-Visa list, you’re going through the embassy regardless.

One more thing: the e-Visa is not extendable. Once you’re in India, you cannot extend it or convert it to another visa type. If you think you might stay longer than planned, get the 1-year multiple entry visa and leave and re-enter. Or apply for a regular tourist visa through the embassy, which can be extended in-country through the FRRO.

For the vast majority of travelers, the e-Visa is faster, cheaper, and more convenient than the embassy route. But know the limits before you commit.

The Indian e-Visa system is not user-friendly. But it is predictable. Once you understand the photo rules, the payment quirks, and the timeout issue, it’s a 20-minute process. The people who struggle are the ones who wing it. Don’t wing it. Gather your files, use the official site, and double-check every field against your passport. Do that, and you’ll be approved before you finish packing.