India visa requirements
The rule for your own passport, from India's official immigration page, with the date it was last checked. The same answer for every guide in India: Agra & the Taj Mahal, Varanasi, Goa, Jaipur, Kerala Backwaters.
e-Visa requiredup to 30 days$25-$40 depending on season and duration
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, South Africa, Israel, United Arab Emirates
The e-Tourist visa is applied for online at least four days before travel. One-year and five-year versions exist at higher cost. Apply only through indianvisaonline.gov.in — the commercial lookalikes charge many times the real fee.
Visa required in advance
Every other passport
How to get it: Apply at indianvisaonline.gov.in, upload a photo and passport page, and print the approval — airlines check it at the gate. Allow a week; the site is slow and rejections for photo formatting are common.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, your route and the purpose of the trip. Confirm on the official page before booking.
The guides in India
Agra & the Taj MahalIndiaA tomb built for one person, visited by eight million a year
VaranasiIndiaThe oldest continuously lived-in city on earth, where the Ganges is lined with steps and funeral pyres
GoaIndiaPortuguese churches, Arabian Sea beaches, and no hurry at all
JaipurIndiaA pink city laid out on a grid in 1727, with a fort on every hill above it
Kerala BackwatersIndiaNine hundred kilometres of lagoons and canals behind the coast, crossed on a converted rice barge