India e-Visa scams: the only official website and the real fees

The official address and fee

India's e-Visa portal is indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa. The Government of India fee table, dated 8 September 2026, sets e-Tourist Visa fees by country ².

For most countries in the table, a 30-day e-Tourist Visa costs US$10 from April to June and US$25 from July to March. A 1-year visa costs US$40. Some countries pay nothing, and a few pay different rates. The 5-year visa costs US$200 for most, US$484 for the UK and US$160 for the US ².

A bank charge of 3% is added to the fee ². The fee is not refunded if the visa is refused ³.

What the Indian government says

The official portal states: “Government of India makes no provision of charging of any emergency fees or additional fees for grant of any emergency / express e-visa” ³.

The Embassy of India in Zagreb says “the only website to apply for e-visa is www.indianvisaonline.gov.in and no other website is authorized to provide e-visa services on behalf of Government of India” ¹.

It warns that many third-party websites offer the Indian e-Visa. It says “Such fake websites misguide foreign nationals” and in some cases take their money ¹. The embassy publishes a list of sites it has seen.

How the overcharge works

Copycat sites often sell an “express” or “urgent” service for a premium. India says it has no such fee ³. Others charge a flat price far above the US$10 to US$40 range in the official table ².

Pay attention to the season. The low US$10 rate applies only from April to June for most countries ². A site that quotes one price all year is not using the official table.

India runs a separate e-Arrival card. The portal says it is for arrival information and is not a visa ³.

Timing and payment rules

Pay the fee at least 4 days before your travel date, or the application will not be processed ³.

The payment status can take up to 2 hours to update. India asks applicants to wait 2 hours before applying again, and to use the Verify Payment option if money left the account but the status did not change ³. Paying twice through a second site will not speed this up.

India's e-Arrival card can be filed within 72 hours before arrival at boi.gov.in, indianvisaonline.gov.in or the official Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app ³.

What to do

• Apply only at indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa ¹.
• Check your fee in the official fee table before you pay ².
• Confirm your ETA shows as “GRANTED” on the official site before you travel ³.
• If you paid a fake site, call your card issuer and report the site ⁴.