India Business e-Visa: Requirements For US Citizens And How To Apply

What Is The India Business Visa?

The India Business Visa is a type of electronic Indian Visa, or e-Visa, that allows people from foreign countries to partake in business and international travel in India for a certain time. The Business Visa for India is just one of the many other e-Visas that the Indian government provides to foreign nationals. However, the e-Business Visa for India is specifically for business or commercial intent. Therefore you cannot use an Indian Tourist Visa or any other regular visa to conduct business in India.

Who Can Apply For The India Business Visa?

Business people and travelers from more than 100 countries can apply for the India Business Visa unless you are an Indian national with an Indian passport. Unfortunately, residents from Pakistan or people of Pakistani origin are not eligible to apply for an e-Visa in such cases.

Fortunately, the United States of America is one of the 100 countries that are eligible for this visa type.

Get Your India Business Visa In Under 10 Minutes

Seeing over a business and trying to apply for a visa simultaneously can be a tedious task. The last thing you need is to stress about traveling for the sake of your business; that is why Atlys is here. Applying through Atlys is easy, peasy, lemon squeezy, and takes less than 10 minutes!

Everything you need to know about the Business Visa for India

Before you dive right into applying for the e-Business Visa for India, I highly recommend reading through this blog post section. It has all the necessary information you need to know about the India Business Visa; that way, you will be 100% prepared for your application and traveling to India.

When Should I Apply For The India Business Visa?

Where Can I Apply For The India Business Visa?

What Are The Financial Requirements For The Business Visa?

What Is The Processing Time For The Visa?

How Long Is The Indian Business Visa Valid For?

How Long Can I Stay In India With The Business E-Visa?

What Can I Do In India While On This Visa?

When Should I Apply For The India Business Visa?

You should apply for your India Business Visa at least 120 days before the day you plan to land in India, which is equivalent to 3 or 4 months. This is mainly because of the amount of time it takes for the India Business to be processed, and this makes sense because you would not want to have your application feel rushed, which would happen if you decided to apply for your e-Visa 4 days before your trip.

Where Can I Apply For The India Business Visa?

Since the Business Visa for India is an electronic document, you will need to apply for it online via the Indian government website in advance prior to your trip. You can also apply through travel agents or visa services such as Atlys.

What Are The Financial Requirements For The Business Visa?

Without a doubt, you will need to be financially capable of supporting yourself while you are in India (which includes accommodation, transport, and food), plus you will need to pay the India Business e-Visa fee, which is about 130 USD.

What Is The Processing Time For The Visa?

The Business Visa for India takes at least 4 working days to be processed. However, the processing time for the India Business Visa can change, either taking a shorter or longer amount of time.

The reason for this can be:

An increase or decrease in the number of applications

The state of the documents submitted

Whether or not the application was completed correctly

Not meeting the eligibility criteria

How Long Is The Indian Business Visa Valid For?

The Business Visa for India is valid for one year from the date of issue, but US passport holders can also get Business Visas that have validity for 5 or 10 years; for the sake of this post, though, we will be focusing on the India Business Visa that is valid for a year which is short-term compared to the above-mentioned options.

How Long Can I Stay In India With The Business E-Visa?

You can stay in India for business and commercial purposes for a maximum of 180 days or 6 months. The India Business Visa is also a multiple-entry visa. Therefore, it allows you to enter and exit India more than once, as long as the Visa is valid, as compared to a single entry visa that can only be used to enter the country once.

What Can I Do In India While On This Visa?

There are quite a few business endeavors you can partake in a while in the country with the e-Business Visa for India. This includes the following:

Trading or selling

Conducting trade fairs

Recruiting for your business

Participating in a project

Attending business meetings

Conducting tours

Hosting business lectures under the Global Initiative for Academic Networks

What Documents Are Needed To Apply For The India Business Visa?

To go through with the application for the Business Visa for India, you will need to submit scanned copies of the relevant documents below. These documents are very important as Indian authorities will need them to validate and accept your visa application.

A standard passport with at least 6 months validity and is nowhere near its expiry date (notes this must not be a diplomatic or any type of passport, and it must have blank pages available)

Two passport-sized photographs of yourself (the photo must be taken against a plain white background and be recently shot in portrait form)

A completed online visa application form

A copy of your business card or a valid business letter

Details of the Indian company or NGO you are doing business with

An invitation letter from the Indian company you are conducting business with

A debit or credit card from which you be using to pay the e-Visa fees

Your personal information such as name, email address, phone number, nationality, and other particulars (make sure that your information is always correct)

An onward or return ticket out of India (this is to prove that you will leave India after your business endeavors)

In some cases, you might be asked to obtain a health certificate from the Ministry of Health to show that you are fit enough for travel

How To Apply For The India Business Visa?

Applying for the Business Visa for India is simple and can be done in just a few steps, all from the convenience of your device since everything is online.

Step 1: Make Sure You Meet The Requirements

Step 2: Complete The Online Application

Step 3: Upload Your Documents

Step 4: Pay The Visa Fee

Step 5: Wait For Your Application To Be Processed

Step 6: Receive Your India Business Visa

Step 1: Make Sure You Meet The Requirements

Meeting the visa requirements is important because it is the foundation of your visa application. Failure to meet the requirements may result in your application being rejected, and neither you nor I would want that to happen, especially with how time-consuming getting a visa can be.

Therefore, make sure that you meet the requirements and have all your travel documents ready before you proceed with the application form.

Step 2: Complete The Online Application

After making sure that you are eligible to apply for the India Business Visa for US citizens, you can proceed with the application. Since you are applying for an e-Visa, your application will take place online. There is no need for you to apply at the Indian Embassy or Indian Mission.

When you begin your online visa application you will be asked to fill in your personal details such as your date of birth, gender, identity number, email, as well as the type of Visa you are applying for, the purpose of your trip, and passport information.

You will also be required to fill in the address of your place of residence in the United States, your family details, your occupation details, and details of the business you will be working in India.

You will also be given a temporary application ID which is a string of letters and numbers used to identify your visa application for India.

Step 3: Upload Your Documents

Once you have completed all the nitty-gritty details of your India Business Visa application, you can finally upload your supporting documents. Make sure that the scanned copies of your documents are clear and visible to read in order to avoid problems with your application.

After uploading your documents on the platform, you can double-check the information you have completed previously. Thankfully, if you find a mistake in your application, you can edit it by clicking on the “Modify” button.Once you’re done with that, you can proceed to the next part of the application, where your form will automatically be downloaded onto your device

When uploading an image as a document, make sure that the images are in JPG format and have a size smaller than 1MB.

Step 4: Pay The Visa Fee

Assuming everything in your application is correct, and up to standard, you can proceed further with your visa application process. To do this, you will need to pay the visa fee, which is about 130 USD for citizens from the United States of America.

Payment will be made from your debit or credit card.

Step 5: Wait For Your Application To Be Processed

After completing the application for your Business Visa for India, you can sit back and take a breather knowing that the hard work is done; the rest is up to the Ministry of External Affairs of the Indian Government, which will process your visa application and determine whether you have the green light to travel to India for business or not. This will take an average of 4 days to complete.

Step 6: Receive Your India Business Visa

Once your India Business Visa has been approved, you will receive an email confirming that your application for the Visa has been successful, and you will be able to download it onto your device.

You will be required to print out your e-Visa and present it to the Immigration authorities at the airport when you arrive in India, where your passport will also be stamped at the Immigration Check Posts.

Take your Business To The World

Now that you know everything about e-Business Visa for India, you are more than ready to start applying. It’s time for you to pack your bags and take your business ventures around the world as a proud visa holder!