I have heard repeated reports that getting an Indian E-Visa can be extremely difficult. There are cases where the website won’t accept payment and even where it won’t work on a Mac computer only on Windows!
A friend of mine who just went through the process shared the below tips:
- Leave plenty of time before your planned travel to fill out your application form online.
- Carefully read the requirements on the indianvisaonline.gov.in website. Make sure your passport PDF and photo JPEG comply with their specifications.
- PC’s seem to work better than mac’s to fill out the form.
- Try and complete the application in one sitting, carefully recording your application ID #.
- When choosing to pay, only use the SBI e-pay button and preferably pay by PayPal.
- If, for some reason, your payment does not appear to go through or you get a message that the payment failed, don’t panic. Do not fill out a new application. Visit the “Visa Enquiry” button at the top of the e-visa page at least 4 hours or the next day after you made your submission. Also check with your bank to see if the payment went through.
- If the Visa enquiry says the payment is not done then go to the Pay/Verify Payment button and try again. Payment can be made several days after your application has been submitted.
- If your payment appears in your bank details but not on the indian e-Visa website, then it seems very difficult to contact anyone either by email or phone call to follow up the matter. It maybe easier to just pay the amount again.
- Many people seem to have some sort of difficulty with the online application. Suggestions are regularly posted on the internet to help with different matters. A solution to any problem you may be experiencing sometimes is found there.
- Be Patient and good luck!
Sorry it can be so crazy but that’s Indian bureaucracy for you.
If you have your own tips, please share in the comments below! 🙂
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