This page is for Canadian passport holders and sits under our India visa and entry requirements guide. Plenty of Canadians still think the 2023 diplomatic row means they can't get an Indian e-visa. That stopped being true in 2023.
Can Canadians get an Indian e-visa?
Yes. The timeline:
| When | What changed |
|---|---|
| September 2023 | India suspended all visa services for Canadians, including e-visas, after the diplomatic row over the Nijjar case |
| October 2023 | 4 of the 13 visa categories resumed |
| 22 November 2023 | e-Visa services for Canadians resumed |
| 2026 | Canada is on the official e-visa list and the September 2026 fee table |
| 3 September 2026 | Indian missions in Canada resumed employment visas (this doesn't affect tourists) |
A Canadian tourist now applies in exactly the same way as a British or Australian one.
Which visa you need
Canadian citizens need a visa or an OCI card. There's no visa on arrival for Canadians. Only Japanese, South Korean and some UAE nationals can get one.
| e-Tourist visa | Fee (Canadian 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 went up from US$80 to US$200. The 1-year price 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 covers multiple trips over 12 months. For a single trip, I'd start there. On either, the limit is 180 days in India per 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've served in the military, police or security services (even if retired), you'll need a regular visa. In Canada these are handled through BLS International, as listed by the High Commission of India in Ottawa. The official e-visa site also has an advisory for Canadian nationals that repeats this rule.
How to apply, step by step
Apply at https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/ only. The official FAQ says no other site takes applications and you don't need an agent. Plenty of sites in search results look official but charge a big markup.
- Choose an arrival date 4 to 120 days ahead. There's no official processing time, so leave one to two weeks.
- Fill in the form yourself. Write "NA" in the previous-visa fields if they 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. Refused applications aren't refunded.
- When the email arrives, check the site shows "GRANTED".
- Print the ETA and check every detail matches your passport.
For questions about your application, the official e-Visa Support Centre is on +91 11 24300666 or indian-evisa@gov.in. There's no toll-free number for Canada.
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 Canada
Nonstop flights
| Airline | Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Air India | Toronto to Delhi | Daily on the Boeing 787-9 from August 2026, without the old Vienna stop (Business Today, 1 August 2026) |
| Air India | Toronto to Mumbai | New seasonal flight, three a week from 25 October 2026 to 26 March 2027 |
| Air India | Vancouver to Delhi | Cut to five a week over summer 2026, so check the current frequency |
| Air Canada | Toronto to Delhi | The frequency changes with the season (10 a week in April 2026, per AeroRoutes), so check the timetable |
| Air Canada | Montreal to Delhi | Seasonal: five a week from 25 October 2026 to 26 March 2027 (AeroRoutes, 24 September 2026) |
Schedules have changed often in 2026, so check the airline's timetable before you book. From late October you can fly nonstop to Mumbai as well as Delhi, but only from Toronto.
Two things are affecting flights between Canada and India in 2026:
- Pakistan's airspace has been closed to Indian-registered aircraft since April 2025, and Pakistan has extended the closure month by month. The latest notice runs to 24 October 2026 (Latestly, 16 September 2026). The notices cover Indian-registered aircraft, so Air Canada isn't affected. Some Air India routes were cut over summer 2026 (see the table).
- Gulf disruption. Connecting through Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi is often the cheapest way to reach India. Gulf airspace closed from 28 February 2026 and caused mass cancellations. The hubs had reopened by September 2026, but the region is still flagged for disruption, so book a flexible fare and check your insurance covers airspace closures.
You can also connect through Europe with airlines such as British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France or KLM.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | C$1,440 | C$1,511 to C$2,108 | September (around C$1,455) | December (around C$2,173) |
| Vancouver | C$1,376 | C$1,536 to C$2,071 | September (around C$1,624) | June (around C$2,073) |
Check the airline's own site for the current fare. For weather rather than price, see the best time to visit India.
What to bring from Canada
- Adaptor, and maybe a converter. India uses type C, D and M sockets at 230 V, 50 Hz, so your plugs need an adaptor. Check the label on each device: if it says 100-240 V, the adaptor is all you need. Anything that runs only on 110 V needs a voltage converter as well.
- 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. Set up UPI One World through an app such as CheqUPI, using your passport and visa, top it up from a Canadian card and pay by scanning QR codes. Declare foreign cash above 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. Make sure it covers medical treatment and evacuation. If you're heading into the Himalaya, you'll want cover above 2,400 m and mountain rescue.
- Health. The Government of Canada's travel advice lists routine vaccines, hepatitis A and B and typhoid, plus Japanese encephalitis for longer stays, and had a measles health notice in place on 6 October 2026. Ask a travel clinic about malaria and rabies, and keep medicines in original packaging with a prescription.
- Leave at home: satellite phones, GPS devices and satellite messengers such as a Garmin inReach (foreign tourists have been arrested for carrying them), drones and vapes.
See our India packing list for the rest.
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. Delhi is India's main long-haul airport, and most nonstop flights from Canada land here. 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) and the new Navi Mumbai airport are both e-visa entry points. At 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. Air India's seasonal Toronto to Mumbai flight, from 25 October 2026, is the only nonstop from Canada to the city.
Goa. Goa has two e-visa airports, Mopa and Dabolim. Check which one your connecting flight uses before booking a transfer.
Getting to your hotel. The UK Foreign Office advises against hailing taxis on the street alone, especially at night. Use a prepaid taxi, Uber, Ola or a hotel transfer and check the driver's identity. The Government of Canada rates India as "exercise a high degree of caution", with regional advisories: avoid all travel to Jammu and Kashmir and within 10 km of the Pakistan border, and avoid non-essential travel to Manipur (updated 13 July 2026).
Travel with us
India Rajasthan & Varanasi is our 14-day trip through Rajasthan and on to Varanasi. If you'd rather be outdoors, India Rishikesh & Himalaya is 9 days of rafting, yoga and mountains. Both are small-group trips for solo travellers aged 18 to 40, and I'm there in person on each one as your Trip Host.
