In a move to boost foreign tourist arrivals, and aid those undertaking travel for medical reasons and education, India has simplified its visa regime by reducing the number of main visa categories from 13 to nine and the sub-categories from 49 to 23, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.

The Ministry said, “The step aims at making it more compact, coherent and responsive to the requirements of foreign nationals visiting India.”

The Tourist Visa has been renamed the Visitor Visa. “The category has been organised into two sub-categories, V-1 and V-2, so that applicants may select a visa suited to the nature and duration of their proposed visit,” it said.

The V-1 category is granted for 30 days with multiple entries. This category covers short-term activities, including business meetings, medical consultations and wellness retreats. Short-duration medical treatment and short-term courses in Indian languages, music, art and craft also fall into this segment.

The V-2 category, which is intended for longer-duration visits, has a validity of one, five or 10 years. a A six-month visa with multiple entries is granted for mountaineering.

The Business Visa is divided into two categories. This will cover long-term licence-based business activities, such as foreign nationals choosing to establish business ventures in India, as well as short-term activities, including conferences, sports, performing arts and films.

The Medical Visa will be granted for one year with multiple entries.

The Ministry added that the move was also aimed at promoting medical value tourism in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Heal in India’.

With the Student Visa being consolidated into two broad sub-categories, it will cover school, graduate and postgraduate education, besides PhD programmes and research scholars at Indian universities, visiting faculty, foreign research students visiting India for research, and scientific and anthropological expeditions. – editor@nrifocus.com