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I recently applied for the Indian e-visa. On the website it said that they would send me the e-visa by email on approval.

I received an email approving my application.

Do I only need to print out this email? It looks pretty informal for me.

Because it said by email, I expected something like an attachment PDF with photograph and maybe coat of arms printed on it or likewise.

Can anybody help?

The text is as follows:

Dear SECONDNAME FIRSTNAME,

Your application for e-Tourist Visa (eTV) has been processed with following result.

Application ID :- XXX

Passport No :- XXX

Application Status :- Granted

Visa No :- XXX

Nationality :- GERMANY

You can arrive in India between 14/01/2017 to 17/02/2017. (Date format is dd/mm/yyyy).

Visa is valid for 30 days from the date of arrival in India

For any assistance contact eTV support center at indiatvoa@gov.in.

For Tele enquiries(IVRS enquiry) call at +91-11-24300666.Please use XXX as key

Note: - Please carry a copy of this e-Tourist Visa (eTV) at the time of Travel. - e-Tourist Visa (eTV) once issued on arrival is Only Single Entry, non-extendable , non-convertible & not valid for visiting Protected/Restricted and Cantonment Areas. - Biometric details of the applicant will be mandatorily captured at Immigration on arrival in India.

-Applicant must arrive with the same passport as mentioned above.

-Applicant can arrive at 16 e-TV designated airports only i.e. Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Tiruchappali (Trichy),Trivandrum and Varanasi. However, he/she can depart from any of the authorized Immigration Check Posts in India.

-e-Tourist Visa is not allowed for employment, journalism and conference purposes.

-Once you have entered India, you will be subject to Indian Laws.

-This electronic travel authorization does not entitle you for guaranteed entry into India. Your entry can still be refused at the time of arrival.

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  • What did the email say? Does it have a QR code? Consider posting a copy of the email with personal information blacked out (and black out the entire QR code, if present, as it has personal information too). – Michael Hampton Feb 1 '17 at 8:29
  • No QR code is in the email, only text – aldorado Feb 1 '17 at 8:37
  • I had the same doubts last year, but ultimately printed only "this e-Tourist Visa" and shrugged my shoulders (after all, the process had some other oddities as well such as allowing only 100 characters for the list of countries visited in the last ten years). Upon arrival there was a long queue (time-wise, not really person-wise) because the fingerprint sensor kept clogging ... – Hagen von Eitzen Feb 1 '17 at 15:46
  • Yes that is all you need to print out. Check out this if you need official web based confirmation indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/StatusEnquiry?visa_service_req=3. Have fun! – DarthVader Feb 2 '17 at 6:35
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That email is indeed what they want you to print out and carry with you. It even says so explicitly. The text of the email also exactly matches other e-Tourist Visa notification emails.

It's a little strange that you don't see a QR code; as far as I know there should be one at the bottom right. Perhaps they have stopped using it, or your email client doesn't show images? If scanned, the QR code returns some plain XML with your name, passport number, application ID and visa number.

In any case, you can check the status of your application at the official web site, to be sure about it.

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  • 4
    I entered India with a very similar visum on 2nd January this year and I also only had the email printed, no QR code on it. Most people brought the printout from the website with a picture and QR code, so I was worried when waiting in the line, but no questions asked, no problem. As mentioned, I showed it together with the little form they hand out in the line (have your flight numbers handy, even though you think you are now done with it!), got a fingerprint and a picture taken (or a biometry test? not sure. Had to look at a camera for a second) and that was it. – skymningen Feb 1 '17 at 12:53
  • I also had a second look on the link now in addition. At "Print Registered Application" you get a printout, but not sure what that is (this one confused me in the first place, i think it is the temporary application status). Going to "Visa Status Enquiry" you can also get a different printout. This looks like i would have imagined the e-visa with a coat of arms and photograph and QR (I don#t know why I did not find this in the first place). Well but if the email itself is sufficient, one can choose, i guess, what is more convenient. – aldorado Feb 1 '17 at 14:25
  • Oh, right, the QR code is on the web site. I misremembered that. I'm pretty diligent about deleting old emails... – Michael Hampton Feb 1 '17 at 17:30
  • I need to add: This worked out fine in India. – aldorado Jan 23 '19 at 12:04
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Correct, this is all I had when I entered India in June.

We had to approach the counter, present that, our insurance documents, fill in a couple of forms about our first destination and the usual 'what are your plans?' type questions, and that was it. Took about 5 minutes.

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    @pnuts, you end up with an extra-big stamp in the passport. – Dennis Feb 1 '17 at 20:53
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    @pnuts yep, as Dennis says. Cool visa! – Mark Mayo♦ Feb 2 '17 at 4:03
  • @Mark Mayo: This leads me to another question: Is the travel insurance required to enter the country? – aldorado Feb 2 '17 at 10:24
  • @aldorado unfortunately you'll then need to ask a separate question, not in the comments :/ – Mark Mayo♦ Feb 3 '17 at 2:14
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I printed a pdf of the e-tourist visa with my picture and QR code by going to https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/StatusEnquiry, entering the application number (from the e-mail you referenced) and passport number, then click "Print Status."

Important Note: You get e-visa with photo, QR Code and Bar code when you go to above website, login with your details and click on the button "Print Status"

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  • I'd suggest going for this option. At least the print out looks more pleasant. The link needs a fix: instead of "/visa/" they have "/evisa/" now (I couldn't edit the answer as SE requires edits to be at least 6 character long). – Alexey Sep 7 '18 at 10:35
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Yes, this is the document you need. I only printed it last moment before departure as I figured a copy on my phone would do - this is NOT the case.

In addition to the existing answers I would like to warn you not to print out a Gmail page (including the usual Gmail header) as the Stewardess in Vienna got confused enough about this to reject it until I further insisted. Better not to get these people confused, as it tends to lead to anger, which leads to the dark side.

Upon arrival in Mumbai the e-Tourist visa customs desk was on the left before the main immigration hall, which at the time was deserted with more officials than passengers. They needed the copy and our passports, and the most elaborate biometric data collection ceremony I've been subjected to so far.

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