NEW DELHI: Having simplified its visa regime by cutting the total visa categories to 9 from 13 and sub-categories to 23 from 49 and also reducing the information sought from foreign applicants across all 23 sub-categories, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) will be MHA updating its IT systems by year-end, to grant visas per new rationalisation.“The step aims at making it (visa regime) more compact, coherent and responsive to the requirements of foreign nationals visiting India,” the home ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. As part of the revamp, the main visa categories were first cut on 22 to 13 and sub-categories to 49 from 63 in October last year, and further to 9 and 23 respectively on August 27 this year. This simplification was done after studying the visa system followed by the developed countries as well as the global standards.“The consolidation of similar purposes of travel is aimed at providing greater clarity and ease in identifying the appropriate visa category while facilitating legitimate foreign arrivals,” said a ministry spokesperson.Currently electronic visa or e visa is processed by electronic travel authorization under 13 sub categories. The e-visa facility is available to nationals of 172 countries.The MHA has also made visa application simpler, cutting the fields/columns by upto 70% across all 23 sub-categories of visas. “The initiative aims to significantly reduce the information required from foreign nationals, while retaining essential details necessary for visa processing. This will reduce time and effort required to complete the application and also enhance administrative efficiency by facilitating more focused scrutiny and processing of visa application,” said MHA.The rationalisation of visitor visa, earlier called tourist visa, allows flexibility for short and long stays. The name visitor visa reflects a broader range of permitted purposes beyond conventional tourism. The category has been organised into two sub-categories, V-1 and V-2. V-1 covers short-term activities such as business meetings, medical consultations, wellness retreats, and short term courses. It is granted for 30 days with multiple entries. V2 is for longer-duration visits, with validity of 1, 5 or 10 years, as specified.The medical visa framework retains separate provisions for treatment under conventional and AYUSH systems. M-1 Visa covers medical treatment other than treatment under AYUSH systems, while M-3 Visa covers treatment under AYUSH systems. M-1 and M-3 Visas, including their e-Visa variants, will be granted for one year as a default option with multiple entries.This arrangement gives patients greater predictability when treatment involves multiple consultations, follow-up appointments or staged procedures.In the student visa category, S-1 covers school and college education while the S-2 is meant for PhD and research scholars in Indian universities.Business visas shall now also divided into B-1 and B-2. B-1 Visa covers long-term, licence-based business activities, including foreign nationals seeking to establish industrial or business ventures in India. B-2 Visa covers short-term, contract-based business activities, including Production Investment Business, conferences, sports, performative arts and films.A specific provision has also been made for foreign subject-matter specialists, engineers and technical personnel engaged by Indian companies. Such personnel may be granted a production investment business visa under the B-2 category through the e-Visa platform. This was earlier granted under e-B4 visa nomenclature.
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“This differentiation gives businesses greater clarity when planning long-term investments as against short-term contractual assignments. The dedicated provision for technical specialists can facilitate timely deployment of expertise for setting up and operationalising industrial facilities, transferring technology, etc,” as per MHA.The ministry said the changes in visa regime reduce overlap between visa categories and make the framework easier to navigate for visitors, patients, students, researchers, investors and business professionals. The rationalisation is intended to support legitimate travel, education, healthcare and economic engagement with India through clearer, purpose-based visa options, subject to applicable eligibility criteria and conditions.
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