India e-Visa for US and New Zealand citizens: fees, process and the checks before you pay

The short answer

US and New Zealand citizens appear in India's official e-Tourist fee schedule. Eligible ordinary-passport holders can apply online, subject to the portal's eligibility rules. Nationality alone is not enough: passport type, purpose of travel, professional background and family origin can affect eligibility. This guide covers tourism, not employment, study, journalism or a long-term move.

Use the Government of India e-Visa website. It says applicants should complete their own applications. There is no official emergency or express e-Visa fee, and an intermediary cannot promise a faster grant.

US citizens: the official e-Tourist fees

• 30-day e-Tourist, April-June: US$10.
• 30-day e-Tourist, July-March: US$25.
• One-year e-Tourist: US$40.
• Five-year e-Tourist: US$160.

These are the base amounts in the official country-wise schedule. The portal states that a 3% bank transaction charge is additional. Check the amount displayed for your selected nationality, visa and travel period before paying. Do not treat US residence, a US departure airport or a US visa as US citizenship.

New Zealand citizens: the five-year fee is different

• 30-day e-Tourist, April-June: US$10.
• 30-day e-Tourist, July-March: US$25.
• One-year e-Tourist: US$40.
• Five-year e-Tourist: US$200.

The same 3% bank-charge note applies. The published schedule uses US dollars, not New Zealand dollars. Your payment provider may handle currency conversion separately. The five-year fee is not the US fee with a different flag on the page.

Read the official country-wise fee PDF: New Zealand is row 113 and United States of America is row 167. The PDF does not show a clear revision date, so we record when we checked it rather than inventing one.

When to apply, and what the validity means

The portal's current FAQ says eligible e-Tourist applicants may apply up to 120 days before proposed travel and at least four days before arrival. The fee must also be paid at least four days before travel. Four days is the minimum application lead time, not a guaranteed processing time. Leave a sensible buffer rather than building a holiday around the last permitted day.

• The 30-day e-Tourist validity runs from first arrival in India. First arrival must fall between the ETA's issue and expiry dates.
• The one-year and five-year validity periods run from the grant of the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), not your first holiday.
• The portal currently describes multiple entry for these tourist options and a maximum of 180 days in India in one calendar year for one-year and five-year tourist visas. A long-validity visa does not mean unlimited stay. Read the conditions printed on your granted ETA and visa stamp.

For a normal short holiday, choose according to your actual travel plan. A five-year validity is not automatically better value if you are only making one short visit.

Prepare the documents before opening the form

• A passport with at least six months' validity when applying and at least two blank pages.
• A recent front-facing photograph with a white background, and a clear scan of the passport's personal-details page. Follow the live form's file-size, format and photograph specifications.
• A return or onward ticket and sufficient funds for the stay, as required by the eligibility instructions.
• Your own accurate personal and travel details, and access to the email address used in the application.

Each traveller needs a separate passport and application; a child endorsed on a parent's passport is not covered. Do not send passport scans to an unofficial site just because its logo looks reassuring.

Apply, pay, then check for a granted ETA

1. Open the official portal and read eligibility for your passport, purpose and background.
2. Choose the correct e-Tourist option. Enter details exactly as they appear in your passport.
3. Upload clear documents. Check name, nationality, passport number, date of birth and photograph before final submission.
4. Pay through the official flow and keep the application reference. Fees are non-refundable, including after rejection or cancellation of your trip.
5. Check status on the portal. Confirm it says GRANTED before the journey, and carry a copy of the ETA.

If payment was debited but the status has not updated, the portal says updates can take up to two hours. Use its payment-status check before submitting another payment or application. Do not mistake a delayed receipt for a reason to keep clicking Pay.

Check exceptions before booking the route

The portal excludes diplomatic and official passports and certain international travel documents. It also directs applicants with a serving or retired defence, military, security or police background to the regular-visa route. Pakistani nationality or specified Pakistani family-origin connections can make an applicant ineligible for e-Visa even when they hold another passport. Read the exact official wording; do not guess from citizenship alone.

e-Visa entry is through designated airports and seaports, not an arbitrary land border. Check your planned arrival point on the current portal. Protected, restricted and cantonment areas can need separate permission. If you replace the passport associated with the ETA, read the official instructions about carrying both old and new passports.

Before you close the laptop

Check the granted document, your passport, arrival airport, dates and current airline requirements together. Visa approval does not replace border checks or guarantee entry. If your case falls outside these rules, use the relevant Indian mission's regular-visa guidance instead of trying to make a tourist e-Visa fit.

Once the paperwork is sorted, start with our India trip guide, regional best-time guide and money, SIM and packing essentials. We can help plan the holiday; the visa decision stays with the Indian authorities.

Official sources and last check

Rules and process: Government of India e-Visa instructions and FAQs. Fees: country-wise e-Tourist fee schedule. Both checked 31 October 2026. Recheck the official portal before applying or paying because requirements can change.