India e-Visa 2026 for US travelers — the step-by-step on the official site (and how to dodge the broker scam)

Around 2014, India decided it wanted more tourists and less bureaucracy. It created the e-Visa: you fill out a form online, attach a photo and a scan of your passport, pay by card, and get the authorization by email. No consulate, no line, no mailing your passport overnight. For Americans, it works. It's one of the easiest visas to get anywhere in the world today.

So why do so many people get tangled up? Because of the scam. You type "India visa online" into Google, and the first results — paid, highlighted — are middleman companies dressed up to look official. Crest, Indian flag, "Government authorized." They charge USD 80, 100, sometimes 150 for an e-Visa the Indian government sells for USD 25. Some deliver (late). Others vanish with your money and your data.

This guide has one practical goal: get you to the real site, show you the real process, and keep you out of the traps. No consulting upsell, no affiliate link, no "facilitator." You do it yourself in 30 minutes.

---

The only official site: indianvisaonline.gov.in

Memorize it: indianvisaonline.gov.in. It ends in .gov.in, the Indian government's domain. It's the only place the tourist e-Visa is issued at the official price.

The specific form address shifts from time to time (it used to be indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa; today the gateway is the institutional homepage with the "e-Visa" link). But the root never changes: gov.in. If the domain doesn't end in gov.in, it isn't the government.

How to spot a fake site:

• Domains like india-visa-online.com, evisa-india.org, indiavisa.co, visa-india.net. None of those is official.
• Paid ads at the top of Google ("Sponsored"). The official site rarely runs ads.
• Inflated prices: if you were asked for more than USD 100 for standard tourism, it's a middleman.
• "Service fee," "express processing fee," "professional review" baked into the total. The government charges the visa fee and the bank fee. That's it.
• Artificial urgency: "only 3 slots left today." Electronic visas don't have limited slots.

Not all middlemen are illegal — some just resell an expensive, unnecessary service. But there are outright scams mixed in, the kind that pocket your money or clone your passport data. For you, the result is the same: you paid too much for nothing. Go straight to gov.in.

---

Do you need an e-Visa or a regular visa? The difference that matters

India offers two paths for tourists. Knowing which one is yours keeps you from paying wrong or getting turned away.

	e-Visa (tourist)	Regular visa (sticker)
Where you apply	Online, indianvisaonline.gov.in	Consulate/VFS center, in person or by mail
Physical document	No — arrives by email (PDF)	Sticker glued into the passport
Timeline	3 to 5 business days	2 to 4 weeks
Cost (US citizen)	USD 25 to 80	More expensive, varies
Entry allowed	Designated ports only	Any port, including land borders
Stay	30 days / 1 year / 5 years by category	Per visa, can be longer
Who it's for	Tourist, short visit, light business	Long stay, study, work, journalism, land border

For 95% of American tourists, the e-Visa is the answer. You only need the regular visa if:

• You're entering by a land border (Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan) — the e-Visa isn't valid there.
• You're staying longer than the limit of the tourist category.
• You're doing something tourism doesn't cover: studying, paid work, journalism, research, long-term volunteering.
• You've used too many e-Visas already (India caps how many e-Visas you take per calendar year; tourism usually allows up to two per year).

If you're landing in Delhi, running the Golden Triangle, seeing Kerala or Goa, and heading home, it's the e-Visa. No question.