India Visa Guide: Types, Requirements & Processing

India visas come in more flavors than most people expect. Maybe you’re going for two weeks to see family, maybe you’re headed over for work, or maybe you’re a former Indian national trying to sort out an OCI card so you never have to deal with this again. We handle all of it out of our West LA office: tourist, business, work, OCI, and eVisa. Here’s the breakdown of what each one actually requires.

Five Ways to Travel to India

A tourist visa covers sightseeing and visiting family, capped at 180 days per visit. A business visa is for trade, meetings, and company travel. A work visa applies if you’re taking a job with an Indian company. An OCI card is the lifelong option for former Indian nationals and their families. And the eVisa is the fast electronic route for short tourist or business trips.

Which one you need depends entirely on your situation, and honestly, a five-minute phone call usually sorts it out faster than reading through requirements online.

The Basics Every Application Needs

Regardless of visa type, four things come up every time:

• A valid passport, signed, with at least one blank page, and good for six months past your departure date
• A copy of valid ID that matches your current address (an old driver’s license won’t cut it, but a recent utility bill will)
• The online application, filed at indianvisaonline.gov.in, we complete this with you rather than sending you off to figure it out alone
• A 2×2 photo, taken right in our office

One thing worth knowing upfront: if you were born in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, or Nepal, you’ll need to apply in person at the Indian consulate. That’s not something an expediting service can file on your behalf, but we can still tell you exactly what to bring so the in-person visit goes smoothly.

Tourist Visa

Tourist visas top out at 180 days per visit, and there’s a required two-month gap between tourist trips, so back-to-back visits don’t always work the way people assume. If you’re a former Indian national, along with your spouse and children, you’d apply for an Entry visa instead, which skips that two-month rule entirely.

Traveling with a minor under 18? You’ll need their birth certificate, copies of both parents’ passports or IDs, and a notarized Parental Consent Form.

Business Visa

Business visas lean heavier on documentation. You’ll need a business letter from your US employer on company letterhead, with an original signature, laying out your India contact, purpose of travel, length of stay, lodging, and financial guarantor. On the India side, you’ll also need an invitation letter from the host company (a scan is fine) and proof of that company’s incorporation.

Work Visa

For employment visas, the core document is your work contract or appointment letter from the Indian employer. Beyond that, the company needs to provide its Certificate of Incorporation and business registration, and your contract needs to show a salary above USD 25,000 a year. That salary threshold trips people up more often than you’d think, so it’s worth checking your offer letter before starting the paperwork.

eVisa

If your trip is short and simple, the eVisa is usually the easiest path. It’s filed online at indianvisaonline.gov.in, valid for 60 days with double entry, and covers both tourism and business. You’ll still need a passport with six months of validity and one blank page, a photo from the last six months, and proof of your travel plans (a round-trip ticket plus a hotel booking or host address).

The nice part about the eVisa is that it’s entirely electronic. Nothing gets mailed, nothing gets shipped back, it just lands in your inbox. If you’re traveling within the next four business days, this is almost always your fastest option, and we can confirm that on a quick call.

OCI Card

The OCI card is a different animal entirely. It’s not really a visa in the traditional sense; it’s a lifelong, multiple-entry document for people who used to hold Indian citizenship, or their children. Once you have it, there’s no renewal, no expiration, no limit on how long you can stay per visit. It just doesn’t come with voting rights or citizenship itself.

Getting there takes more paperwork than any other option on this list. Here’s the full list of what’s involved:

1. The online application at passport.gov.in/oci
2. Your original Indian passport (current or expired is fine), plus a copy of the info page
3. Your valid US passport, along with proof of US residency like a state ID or utility bill
4. A recent OCI photo, no older than three months, no glasses, no headwear, neutral expression
5. Proof of your US residency status, whether that’s a green card or paperwork like an H1-B, H-4, L1, L2, EAD, or I-120
6. If you ever held an Indian passport, proof it was cancelled or renounced
7. For a child’s OCI, both parents’ Indian passport copies, notarized consent letters, the child’s birth certificate, and the parents’ marriage certificate
8. Female applicants may also need a marriage certificate or divorce decree
9. A handful of notarized forms (affidavit, consent letter, undertakings) that we file alongside your application
10. Payment of the government and service fees, covered below

Expect the whole process to take 8 to 12 weeks. Your passport travels both ways by FedEx during this, at $48 each leg.

What This Actually Costs

The total price breaks into three pieces: the government/consulate fee, our service fee, and (if you need it) FedEx return shipping.

Consulate fees:

• Tourist, 1 year: $85
• Tourist, 5 years: $125
• Business, 1 year: $125
• Business, 5 years: $195
• OCI card: $356
• eVisa: $100
• Renunciation: $250

Our service fee, based on speed:

• Rush: $199
• Express: $145
• Regular: $99
• ETA/eVisa: $145

FedEx return, if you want it:

• Priority overnight: $48
• First overnight (by 8:30 AM): $87
• Saturday delivery: $68
• Your own prepaid label or account: $5 air bill charge

If you’re going the eVisa route, skip the FedEx line entirely, since there’s nothing physical to ship back.

Questions People Actually Ask Us

Should I get the eVisa or a regular visa? If your trip fits inside 60 days and you’re doing tourism or business, the eVisa is usually simpler and faster; no passport handoff, no waiting on shipping. A regular visa makes more sense for longer stays or multiple entries over time.

Why does the OCI take so long? Because it’s not really processing a trip, it’s processing a permanent status. 8 to 12 weeks is the average, and there’s no way to meaningfully rush it.

My license has an old address. Does that matter? Yes, and this trips up more applicants than you’d expect. The consulate wants your ID to match your current address. If it doesn’t, bring a recent utility bill instead and you’re fine.

What do the photos actually need to look like? 2×2 inches, plain white background, no glasses, taken in the last six months, and not the same photo already in your passport. We shoot these in-office, no appointment necessary.

My passport’s about to expire. Now what? Since the visa gets stamped directly into your passport, an expiring one is a real problem if you’re within six months of your trip or out of blank pages. We can renew the passport first, then file the visa against the fresh one.

Come See Us

11022 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 100, West Los Angeles, CA 90025

Open Monday through Friday, 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Saturdays 8 AM to 3 PM. Sundays 9 AM to 3 PM.

Walk in any day of the week, or mail your documents in if you’re not local. Either way, call ahead and we’ll tell you exactly what to bring for your specific situation.

Call (310) 402-1619 or email la@samedaypassport-visa.com to get started.

Fees and requirements above reflect what’s currently published by Sameday Passport & Visa. Since consulate rules shift from time to time, it’s worth confirming with our office before you apply.