This is the US version of our India visa and entry requirements guide. It adds flights from the US and a packing list that covers the things Americans most often get wrong, such as voltage and satellite devices.
Which visa you need
Every US citizen needs a visa or an OCI card to enter India. Visa on arrival is only open to Japanese, South Korean and some UAE nationals.
| e-Tourist visa | Fee (US 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$160 | US$164.80 | 5 years from the date it's granted, multiple entry |
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 2026 change. The 5-year e-visa used to cost US$80. It now costs US$160 for Americans, less than the US$200 most other nationalities pay but double the old price. 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.
Which one to pick. If you're going once, the 1-year visa at US$40 is the cheapest way to keep your options open. The 5-year visa at US$160 is four times the price, so it pays off only if you're confident you'll return in a later year. Either way, you can spend up to 180 days in India per calendar year. That's the only stay limit in the official rules; the old 90-day cap on each visit that some sites still mention isn't part of them.
If you have a military, police or security background (serving or retired), you can't use the e-visa. Apply for a regular visa through VFS Global instead. Paper applications from the US carry a US$3 ICWF charge plus the VFS service fee, and you can submit by mail or in person with an appointment.
How to apply, step by step
Apply at https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/ and nowhere else. The official FAQ says there's no other website for e-visa applications and no agent is needed. Lookalike sites charge several times the government fee.
- Choose an arrival date 4 to 120 days away. There's no official processing time, so apply one to two weeks ahead if you can.
- Fill in the form yourself. Put "NA" in the previous-visa fields if you've never had an Indian visa.
- 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 Visa or Mastercard. Nothing is refunded if you're refused.
- Check the site shows "GRANTED" once the email arrives.
- Print the ETA and check every detail matches your passport.
For payment problems there's a toll-free US line, 1855 205 5577. 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 and still listed as mandatory by the UK and Irish governments in October 2026. Keep the acknowledgement to show immigration
- Yellow fever certificate if you've been in a risk country within 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 the US
Nonstop flights
| Airline | From | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air India | New York JFK, Newark, San Francisco | Delhi, Mumbai | Chicago and Washington are suspended. Summer 2026 cuts were mostly reversed from 1 September 2026. Delhi to JFK is listed at seven flights a week from 3 November 2026 to 28 February 2027 |
| United | Newark | Delhi | Newark to Mumbai is suspended |
| American | New York JFK | Delhi | |
| Delta | None | Atlanta to Delhi has been announced, with no start date yet |
This is based on airline announcements and dated route news up to October 2026. Schedules are changing fast, so check the airline's own timetable before you book.
Air India's US flights are also longer than they used to be, because Pakistan has closed its airspace to Indian airlines since April 2025.
One-stop options
Connecting through a Gulf hub with Emirates, Qatar Airways or Etihad is often cheaper. Gulf airspace closed from 28 February 2026, causing mass cancellations. The hubs had reopened by September 2026, but disruption hasn't fully gone away, so book a flexible fare and check your insurance covers airspace closures.
Typical fares and cheapest months
Kayak's New York to Delhi page showed return fares from US$717, with typical fares of US$746 to US$1,187 (indicative, checked 24 Sep 2026). September was the cheapest month (around US$734) and December the most expensive (around US$1,197). Fares change often. Booking 8 to 12 weeks or more ahead and flying midweek tends to help.
Weather matters more than price for most trips, so check the best time to visit India before you lock in a cheap September fare, since it's still monsoon season in much of the country.
What to bring from the US
- Adaptor, and maybe a converter. India uses type C, D and M sockets at 230 V, 50 Hz. US plugs won't fit, so you need an adaptor. Check the label on each charger: if it says 100-240 V, an adaptor is enough. Anything that runs only on 110 V needs a voltage converter too.
- 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 at authorised money changers. Set up UPI One World (for example with the CheqUPI app), load it from your US card and pay by QR code like everyone else. The UK Foreign Office says you can withdraw rupees with a bank card but warns that card skimming is common. Declare foreign cash over US$5,000 in notes.
- Insurance. Make sure it covers medical treatment and evacuation, plus altitude and mountain rescue if you're heading into the Himalaya.
- Vaccines and medicines. The CDC recommends hepatitis A and typhoid for most travellers, with others such as hepatitis B, rabies and Japanese encephalitis depending on your itinerary. It also recommends malaria tablets for travel to certain areas of India, so ask a travel clinic which apply to your route. The CDC has flagged counterfeit rabies vaccine in circulation in Delhi, so get any shots before you leave. Keep medicines in original packaging with a prescription.
- Leave at home: satellite phones, GPS devices and satellite messengers like a Garmin inReach. A US national was arrested at Srinagar airport in April 2026 after one was found in their luggage, and a US tourist was detained in Jodhpur in April 2025. Also leave your drone and any vapes at home.
The full list is in our India packing list.
Arrival day
Immigration. Have your passport, printed ETA, e-Arrival confirmation and Air Suvidha acknowledgement in hand. Fingerprints and a photo are taken at the desk. Your temperature may be checked as part of Ebola screening. Foreign visitors use the regular immigration counters; the fast-track e-gates at Delhi and Mumbai are only for Indian citizens and OCI cardholders.
Delhi. All three nonstop airlines fly from the US to Delhi. 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. Some Air India flights from the US land at Mumbai's main airport (BOM), so check which airport your fare uses. 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.
Getting to your hotel. The State Department publishes a travel advisory for India, so read the current one before you fly. The UK's FCDO advises against hailing taxis on the street alone at night. Use a prepaid taxi, Uber, Ola or a hotel transfer, check the driver's identity and share your route.
Travel with us
Our India Golden Triangle is a 7-day introduction to India. If you're flying all that way and have three weeks, India North to South (21 days) makes the most of the flight. Both are small-group trips for solo travellers aged 18 to 40, and I host each one in person as your Trip Host.
