India: Electronic Visa Process Implemented for Students

• Eligibility. Foreign nationals with admission offers from a full-time academic program at a recognized Indian college or university offering undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD or certification-based programs can apply for an electronic student visa.
• Application process. Students interested in entering India under an electronic visa must first register on the Study in India (SII) portal, which is managed by the Ministry of Education. Once registered, students can apply for an electronic student visa (and dependent visas) through the online government portal.
• Validity. The electronic student is valid from one to five years, depending upon the duration of the course (extensions are available on a case-by-case basis).
• FRRO registration. Students under this visa staying in India for over 180 days must register with a Foreigners Registration Office within 14 calendar days of arrival in India.

The online application process simplifies the visa application procedure for international students, eliminating the need for a consular visit.

The processing time is expected to be 24-78 hours (as with other electronic visa applications in India) – faster than the typical 15-30 business days that consular processing usually takes.

This change is in line with the Indian government’s recent efforts to streamline and speed up immigration processes. With this process improvement, the government is seeking to encourage foreign students to reside and stay in India.

The Indian government is likely to continue to implement more technology in its immigration processes in an effort to make the country more attractive to foreign nationals, and to improve the tracking of foreign nationals. We will report on related developments.