This page is for Australian passport holders. It sits under our India visa and entry requirements guide and adds the flight options from Australia (fewer than you might expect) and what to pack.
Which visa you need
Australian citizens need a visa or an OCI card for India. Visa on arrival is only available to Japanese, South Korean and some UAE nationals.
| e-Tourist visa | Fee (Australian passport) | With 3% bank charge | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days, applied April to June | US$10 | US$10.30 | 30 days from first arrival |
| 30 days, applied July to March | US$25 | US$25.75 | 30 days from first arrival |
| 1 year | US$40 | US$41.20 | 365 days from the date it's granted, multiple entry |
| 5 years | US$200 | US$206 | 5 years from the date it's granted, multiple entry |
Fees are charged in US dollars. Source: official fee table dated 8 September 2026. The table labels the US$10 rate "April to June" without saying whether that means when you apply or when you arrive, so apply and arrive within that window if you want the lower fee.
The 5-year visa used to cost US$80. It's now US$200, and the 1-year stayed at US$40. The new price first appears in the official fee table dated 23 December 2025. News reports dating it to July 2026 were describing a later reissue of the same table.
So which one? The 1-year visa costs a fifth of the 5-year one and still allows multiple entries for 12 months. Unless you already know you'll be back in a later year, I'd start there. On either you can stay up to 180 days in a calendar year. That's the only stay limit in the official rules. Some sites still mention an old 90-day cap on each visit, but it isn't in them.
If you have a military, police or security background, serving or retired, you need a regular visa rather than an e-visa. In Australia those applications go through VFS Global, which opened six new centres in July 2026. The Indian High Commission's website has the details.
How to apply, step by step
Only use https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/. The official FAQ says no other website takes applications and you don't need an agent. Lookalike sites often rank above it in search and charge a lot more for the same visa.
- Choose an arrival date between 4 and 120 days away. There's no official processing time, so give yourself one to two weeks.
- Fill in the form yourself, writing "NA" in any previous-visa fields that don't apply.
- Upload a square JPEG photo (10 KB to 1 MB): full face, eyes open, no glasses, plain white or light background, no shadows, no border.
- Upload your passport bio page as a PDF (10 KB to 300 KB).
- Pay by card (Visa or Mastercard) or PayPal. The fee isn't refunded if you're refused.
- Once the email arrives, check the status on the site reads "GRANTED".
- Print the ETA and check it matches your passport exactly.
For payment problems there's a toll-free Australian line, 1800 153 861. For questions about your application, the e-Visa Support Centre is on +91 11 24300666 or indian-evisa@gov.in.
Entry checklist
- Passport valid for at least 6 months after arrival, with 2 blank pages
- Printed e-visa ETA showing "GRANTED"
- e-Arrival card confirmation, filed free within 72 hours of arrival at indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival, boi.gov.in or the Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app (mandatory since 1 April 2026)
- Air Suvidha health self-declaration, filed in the 24 hours before you arrive (and before you board) at airsuvidha.civilaviation.gov.in. Mandatory since early July 2026 (reports give slightly different start dates) and listed as mandatory by the UK and Irish governments. Keep the acknowledgement to show immigration
- Yellow fever certificate if you've been in a risk country in the 6 days before arrival
- Permits for Ladakh's valleys, Spiti, Sikkim or Nagaland if they're on your route (see the hub)
Flights from Australia
Airlines flying from Australia
| Airline | Route | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Air India | Delhi to Sydney and Delhi to Melbourne | Flies both. Flights increase for the northern winter 2026/27 season from late October 2026 (AeroRoutes, 11 August 2026), so check the timetable |
| Qantas | Melbourne to Delhi | Seasonal. It ran 27 October 2025 to 28 March 2026, three a week (Australian Aviation, October 2025). We found no published 2026/27 schedule, so check Qantas |
| Qantas | Sydney to Bengaluru | Suspended 8 August to 24 October 2026 (AeroRoutes, 10 May 2026) |
Qantas and IndiGo announced a codeshare on flights within India in 2022, so ask whether your onward leg is covered when you book. IndiGo has also looked at a Bengaluru to Perth route, but nothing had been confirmed by September 2026.
One-stop flights
Connecting through the Gulf with Emirates, Qatar Airways or Etihad is often the cheapest way to reach India. Compare one-stop fares through Southeast Asian hubs as well. Gulf airspace closed from 28 February 2026, with mass cancellations in March. The hubs had reopened by September 2026, but the UK and Irish governments still flag disruption in the region. Book a flexible fare and check your travel insurance covers airspace closures.
Typical fares and cheapest months
Kayak showed these return economy fares to Delhi (indicative, checked 24 Sep 2026):
| From | Cheapest found | Typical | Cheapest month | Most expensive month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | A$967 | A$1,039 to A$1,570 | February (around A$1,037) | December (around A$1,817) |
| Melbourne | A$870 | A$1,058 to A$1,549 | February (around A$1,069) | December (around A$1,763) |
Check the airline's own site for the current fare. For weather by region, see the best time to visit India.
What to bring from Australia
- Plug adaptor. India uses type C, D and M sockets at 230 V, 50 Hz. Australian plugs won't fit, so bring an adaptor that fits type D sockets (three round pins, the most common). Check your devices say 230 V or 100-240 V.
- Money. Foreign visitors may bring in up to ₹25,000 in rupee notes when arriving by air, and no more. Change money at the airport or authorised money changers. UPI One World lets you pay by QR code like locals: sign up in an app such as CheqUPI with your passport and visa, then load it from your Australian card. Declare foreign cash over US$5,000 in notes. The UK Foreign Office says you can withdraw rupees with a bank card but warns that card skimming is common.
- Insurance. Check it covers medical treatment and evacuation. For Ladakh or Spiti, it also needs altitude cover above 2,400 m and mountain rescue.
- Health. Australian health advice (Smartraveller and the Australian Immunisation Handbook) points to hepatitis A and typhoid vaccines for India and says to see a doctor 6 to 12 weeks before you leave. Malaria advice differs: the CDC lists risk across India below 2,000 m, while TravelHealthPro rates Goa and the Andamans as low risk where bite avoidance is enough. See a travel doctor. Keep medicines in their original packaging with a prescription.
- Leave at home: satellite phones, GPS devices and satellite messengers such as a Garmin inReach (people have been arrested for carrying them), drones and vapes.
Full list: India packing list.
Arrival day
Immigration. Have your passport, printed ETA, e-Arrival confirmation and Air Suvidha acknowledgement ready. Fingerprints and a photo are taken at the desk, and temperature checks are possible under the current health screening.
Delhi. Qantas and Air India land here from Australia. All international flights use Terminal 3. The Airport Express metro runs from T3 to New Delhi station in under 20 minutes (about ₹60), and there's a prepaid taxi counter outside arrivals. Airtel sells SIM cards in the terminal: bring your passport and visa, plus a photo and your hotel address for the paperwork. Activation isn't instant, so a data-only travel eSIM set up before you leave is quicker.
Mumbai. Mumbai's main airport (BOM) is an e-visa entry point, as is the new Navi Mumbai airport. Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad all fly into BOM. International flights use Terminal 2, which has its own station on Metro Line 3 (the Aqua Line), plus prepaid taxi counters in arrivals and a pickup area for app cabs.
Goa. Goa has two e-visa airports, Mopa (GOX) and Dabolim (GOI). Check which one your flight uses before booking a transfer. From Mopa, Kadamba (KTCL) air-conditioned shuttle buses run to Calangute and Panaji (₹200) and Margao (₹400), and there are prepaid taxis and the state's GoaMiles app. Mopa is in the far north of the state, so allow extra time if you're staying in south Goa, which is closer to Dabolim.
Andamans. Port Blair is an e-visa entry airport, but almost everyone flies in on a domestic flight from Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata or Bengaluru. Foreigners register with immigration on arrival at Port Blair.
Getting to your hotel. Smartraveller publishes the Australian government's travel advice for India, with stricter advice for some regions, so read the current page before you fly. The UK Foreign Office advises using a prepaid taxi, Uber, Ola or a hotel transfer rather than hailing a cab on the street, especially at night, and checking the driver's identity.
Travel with us
If you want beaches and a slower pace, South India Goa to Kerala runs for 10 days. For diving, Andaman Islands Beach Tour is 8 days. Both are small groups for solo travellers aged 18 to 40, and I travel with you on both as your Trip Host.
