Why in the News
India’s visa regime has moved from 13 main categories and 49 sub categories to nine main categories and 23 sub categories, and the Tourist Visa has become a wider Visitor Visa. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also cut the information sought in application forms by 65 to 70%. Visas under the revised framework are to be issued by the end of the year.
What is the visa rationalisation, and why was it done?
- What it is: A visa category fixes why a foreign national may enter India and for how long. Rationalisation merges categories with similar purposes, like merging overlapping counters into fewer, clearer ones.
- Stated aim: The MHA wants the regime “more compact, coherent and responsive to the requirements of foreign nationals visiting India”. Fewer categories also make the right one easier to identify and ease legitimate foreign arrivals.
- Two rounds: An earlier round in October last year cut the main categories from 22 to 13. The present cut was made in late August.
- Basis: The government studied the visa systems of developed countries and global standards.
- The takeaway: Fewer categories and shorter forms lower the effort of entry for tourists, patients, students and investors.
What has changed in visitor and medical visas?
- Visitor Visa: The renamed visa covers a wider range of purposes beyond conventional tourism. It is divided into V-1 and V-2.
- V-1: It allows multiple entries over 30 days for business meetings, medical consultations, wellness retreats, short duration treatment and short courses in Indian languages, music, art and craft.
- V-2 and mountaineering: V-2 is meant for longer visits, with a validity of one, five or 10 years. Mountaineering visitors will be granted a six month, multiple entry visa.
- Medical visas: M-1 covers treatment outside AYUSH systems (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) and M-3 covers AYUSH treatment. Both are ordinarily issued for one year with multiple entries.
- Medical attendants: Attendants of M-1 patients are eligible for M-2 visas, and attendants of M-3 patients for M-4 visas.
What has changed in student and business visas?
- S-1 and S-2: S-1 covers school, undergraduate and postgraduate education. S-2 covers research and other academic activities, including PhD programmes, visiting faculty assignments, internships and student exchanges.
- Study in India portal: Eligible students enrolled through the portal may receive multiple entry e-S1 visas for up to five years or the course duration, whichever is shorter.
- B-1: It covers long term, licence based activities, including setting up industrial or business ventures.
- B-2: It covers short term, contract based activities such as production investment, conferences, sports, performing arts and films.
- Production Investment Business Visa: Foreign specialists, engineers and technical personnel engaged by Indian companies for installation, commissioning, maintenance, training and technology transfer get it under B-2. It replaces the earlier e-B4.
How will applications and the rollout work?
- Shorter forms: Forms across all 23 sub categories have been shortened, retaining the information essential for processing.
- Focused scrutiny: Shorter forms reduce the time and effort of applying, so officers can scrutinise applications in a more focused way.
- e-Visa route: The e-Visa is processed through electronic travel authorisation (ETA), an online clearance obtained before travel. The Production Investment Business Visa is issued on this platform.
- System update: The MHA is updating its information technology systems to implement the changes.
Challenges
- Systems readiness: No visa can be issued under the new categories until the updated software works at every mission and immigration post.
- Less information: Shorter forms give visa officers fewer details on which to assess an applicant.
- Wider Visitor Visa: One category now covers tourism, business meetings and short treatment, so use for an unintended purpose is harder to detect.
Way Forward
- Tested rollout: The MHA should test the updated systems at missions and immigration posts before the launch.
- Risk based checks: Immigration authorities should verify applications against existing records to make up for the shorter forms.
- Mapping table: Indian missions should publish a table that maps each old category to its new code.
Conclusion
The rationalisation is decided and awaits the system update before any visa is issued under it. The first issuance under the revised framework, expected by the end of the year, is the milestone to watch.
Key numbers
- Sub categories, earlier round: Cut from 63 to 49 in the first round.
- e-Visa coverage: Nationals of 172 countries, under 13 sub categories.
Matching Previous Year Question
“[2021] With reference to India, consider the following statements: 1.There is only one citizenship and one domicile. 2.A citizen by birth only can become the Head of State. 3.A foreigner, once granted citizenship, cannot be deprived of it under any circumstances. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) 1 and 3 (d) 2 and 3 ANSWER: (a)”
