India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) says changes made Aug. 27 consolidate the visa system into nine main categories and are designed to reduce application fields by 65% to 70% for foreign applicants.
The ministry's Nov. 11 release says the number of subcategories fell from 49 to 23. An earlier round in October 2025 had reduced the system from 22 main categories and 63 subcategories. The MHA says the latest changes aim to reduce overlap and make it easier for applicants to select the right category.
The former Tourist Visa was renamed the Visitor Visa in the Aug. 27 changes. Beyond tourism, the category covers short-term business meetings and medical consultations, brief medical treatment, wellness retreats and short yoga programs. It also includes short courses in Indian languages, music, art and craft.
The V-1 visa is valid for 30 days and allows multiple entries. V-2 visas have a stated validity of one, five or 10 years. V-2 also permits mountaineering, with another six-month multiple-entry option.
Medical visas M-1 and M-3 will default to one-year, multiple-entry validity. M-1 covers treatment outside AYUSH systems, while M-3 covers AYUSH treatment. M-2 and M-4 are for attendants accompanying patients.
The student categories divide by purpose: S-1 covers school, graduate and postgraduate education, while S-2 covers research, visiting faculty, internships and exchange programs. Foreign students enrolled at Indian educational institutions may qualify for e-S1 through the Study in India portal; the visa allows multiple entries and is valid for up to five years or the course duration, whichever is shorter.
B-1 covers long-term, license-based business activity; B-2 is for short-term, contract-based activity. The MHA says foreign specialists in technical training, supply chains, production, quality control, maintenance or equipment installation may qualify for a Production Investment Business Visa under B-2 via the e-Visa platform. India currently offers e-visas to nationals of 172 countries through 13 subcategories.
The ministry is updating its information technology systems and expects to issue visas under the revised framework by the end of 2026.
