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If you live in the UAE and hold a foreign passport, you can usually get an Indian visa online. The Indian e-Tourist visa is valid for 30 days, one year or five years, and you apply at least 4 days before arrival. "India visa on arrival" for UAE residents is a myth: that facility is for UAE citizens who already held a visa. We file the e-visa and check it before you fly.
Which Indian visa matches a UAE resident
Your UAE residence permit does not decide this. Your passport does. A Filipino nurse in Dubai, a British banker in Abu Dhabi and an Egyptian engineer in Sharjah all start from the same place: the Indian e-visa country list on the government portal. If your passport is on it, the e-Tourist visa is the simple route. If it is not, or you are going for work or study, you use a regular visa application, and that is slower.
Indian citizens do not need an Indian visa. The embassy site has a separate Visa and OCI section for people of Indian origin who hold another passport.
The e-Tourist visa in numbers
| Option | Validity | Entry | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| e-Tourist 30 days | 30 days | Multiple | Not extendable |
| e-Tourist 1 year | 365 days from grant | Multiple | 180 days in a calendar year |
| e-Tourist 5 years | Five years from grant | Multiple | 180 days in a calendar year |
Source: Indian e-Visa portal, checked . The fee depends on your nationality. The portal links its fee tables as separate files and we could not read the amounts, so we do not print a number here. You get the exact fee for your passport before you pay us anything.
The portal also lists other e-visas: e-Business (30 days or one year), e-Medical, e-Medical Attendant, e-Student, e-Transit, e-Miscellaneous and e-Family. Pick the one that matches your real purpose. Entering on a tourist visa to work is how people end up in trouble.
India visa on arrival: what it really is
Search results mix this up. The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi says visa on arrival is for citizens of the UAE who had earlier obtained an e-visa or a regular visa for India. It allows up to 60 days, needs a passport valid 6 months with two blank pages, and costs Rs. 2,000 or the equivalent per passenger, children included. It cannot be extended or converted.
If you are a resident on a foreign passport, treat visa on arrival as unavailable and apply for the e-visa instead.
Documents you need
- Passport with enough validity for the visa you pick.
- Scan of the bio page that is sharp and uncropped.
- Recent front-facing photo on a white background, JPEG, between 10 KB and 1 MB.
- An email address you check, since the answer comes there.
- Card for the portal fee.
Steps
- Check your passport against the portal's country list.
- Choose the visa type and length that matches the trip.
- Fill in the form exactly as the passport reads. A different spelling is the usual cause of trouble at the airport.
- Upload the photo and the scan.
- Pay and keep the application number.
- Print the approval when it arrives and carry it with your passport.
Timing and where you can enter
Apply at least 4 days before you land. The portal lists 37 airports and 38 seaports (for cruise entry) where e-visa holders can enter, and 12 land checkpoints. Check your arrival point against that list before you book. The e-visa is non-extendable and non-convertible, so plan the stay you actually need.
Why applications go wrong
- A photo with a coloured background or a file outside the size range.
- A passport scan that is cropped or blurred.
- Names typed differently from the passport.
- Applying less than 4 days before arrival.
- Travel to restricted areas on an e-visa.
The fee, once submitted, is a processing fee and is not refunded if the visa is refused.
The embassy and the consulate
The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India in Dubai handle consular services directly. The embassy says it does not handle electronic visas, so e-visa questions go to the portal. The embassy also publishes an advisory against fraudulent visa and migration processing agencies. Use official channels and a service that is open about being a private one.
How it works with us
You send your passport copy and travel dates on WhatsApp or through the form on this page. A visa adviser checks that your passport is on the e-visa list, picks the visa type and tells you the fee for your nationality. You get one total price in writing before you pay. The team then fills the form from your documents, checks the photo and scan, files it and follows the application until the approval arrives. DubaiVisaDesk.com is a private visa service. India decides every application.
If India refuses the visa, its fee is not returned. Before you pay, your adviser tells you in writing which part of our total, if any, comes back in that case.
Official sources
- Indian e-Visa portal: validity, 4-day rule, entry points, restrictions, photo rules (checked ).
- Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi: consular services, fraud advisory.
- Embassy of India, visa on arrival page: who can use it.
Compare other trips in visas from Dubai and visa-free countries for UAE residents. Indian passport holders planning a UAE trip for family can read Dubai visa for Indians.
