India eVisa photo requirements: official size, background and upload rules (plus passport and fee checks)

The India e-Visa photo must be a JPEG between 10 KB and 1 MB, with equal height and width, showing a full face without spectacles on a plain light colored or white background. That is the wording on indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/, checked on 9 November 2026. You also upload a PDF of the passport bio page (10 KB to 300 KB). The rest of this page covers categories, passport validity, fee mechanics, where to apply, and the mistakes that send applications back.

Last updated: 9 November 2026 (Paris). Photo and passport upload rules checked on indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/ on 9 November 2026. This is not legal advice. Border and Immigration officers decide. Portal text controls over any paraphrase here.

India eVisa photo requirements (at a glance)

The portal's document-upload block sets these photo rules. Quote them back to a traveller whose upload failed.

Pixel dimensions are not listed in the portal photo block quoted here. Follow the upload screen if it shows a pixel range. For generic reject modes (crop, glare, shadow), see visa photo rejections.

Passport bio-page and other uploads

Upload a scanned bio page of the passport showing the photograph and details as a PDF between 10 KB and 300 KB. Business and medical categories also need one extra PDF under the same size limits. The portal says the application is liable to be rejected if the uploaded documents and photograph are not clear or not as per specification.

For generic upload failures that are not India-specific, see visa document upload errors.

Passport requirements for an India e-Visa

The portal asks for an ordinary passport with at least six months' validity at the time of making application, and at least two blank pages for stamping by the Immigration Officer. You must travel on the passport you applied with.

• Ordinary passport. Diplomatic, official and service passports, and laissez-passer documents, fall outside the e-Visa system. Those travellers apply through an Indian mission. Defence, military, security or police backgrounds (serving or retired) are also not eligible for e-Visa.
• Six months at application. Portal wording: "Applicant's passport should have at least six months validity at the time of making application for grant of e-Visa." That is not "beyond arrival".
• Two blank pages. Portal wording: for stamping by the Immigration Officer.
• Same passport for travel. Entry is allowed on a new passport even if the ETA was issued on an old one, but the traveller must carry the old passport on which the ETA was issued. See India e-Visa on a new passport.

If you hold more than one nationality, apply on the passport you will travel on and present that same passport at immigration. That is practical guidance, not a portal quote.

e-Visa categories

The portal lists several e-Visa sub-categories, including e-Tourist (30 days / 1 year / 5 years), e-Business, e-Medical, e-Medical Attendant, e-Student, e-Transit, e-Film, e-Miscellaneous, e-Entry and e-Production Investment. Only two e-Medical Attendant Visas are granted against one e-Medical Visa. You choose a category that matches the stated purpose. Validity, entries and stay caps differ by variant and change; the answer that counts is the one the portal returns for your passport on the day you apply.

e-Visa is non-extendable, non-convertible, and not valid for Protected, Restricted or Cantonment Areas. Biometrics are captured at Immigration on arrival.

What it costs

The e-Visa fee is country or territory specific. The portal adds bank transaction charges of 3%. The fee must be paid at least 4 days before the expected date of travel, or the application will not be processed. The fee once submitted is non-refundable, whether the ETA is granted or rejected. See the fee for your territory on indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/. No flat fee figure is printed on this page. If a card payment fails, see eVisa payment failed.

Where to apply and how long it takes

Apply on the Government of India portal at indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/. For e-Tourist and e-Business, apply online a minimum of 4 days in advance of the date of arrival. For e-Medical and e-Medical Attendant, the same 4-day minimum applies, with a window of 120 days (portal example: applying on 1 September allows arrival from 5 September to 2 January). Carry a copy of the ETA. Confirm the status shows GRANTED on the website before travel. Check status via VisaStatus on the portal.

There are two legitimate routes: the official portal, where you pay the government fee, or a commercial service that states its service fee separately from the consular charge. India's e-Visa is heavily imitated online. Five common electronic visa scams sets out the tells. The portal does not publish a processing SLA. Apply at least 4 days ahead as required; peak periods take longer. For the current picture, see India e-Visa processing times.

Where an Indian e-Visa lets you enter

You may arrive only at the designated airports and seaports listed on the e-Visa website. The portal FAQ is plain: land-border entry is not available on an e-Visa, even with a valid ETA for an airport or seaport. Confirm the current designated-port list on the portal before you book an unusual routing. Departure can be through any Indian Immigration check post the portal lists for exit.

The stumbles that cost people time

• Photograph rejections. Wrong format, unequal sides, spectacles, shadowed or dark backgrounds, and soft focus send files back. Match the table in the photo section above before paying.
• Name fields filled in to look tidy. India matches what you type against the machine-readable zone of your passport. Enter the fields exactly as the passport prints them.
• Applying too close to departure. The portal requires payment at least 4 days before expected travel. A flight in 48 hours is not a reason the system recognises.
• Assuming the e-Visa covers a land entry. It does not. See the entry section above.
• Treating it as a family application. Every traveller needs an individual e-Visa on an individual passport, infants and children included.
• Transcribing the passport number loosely. A capital O typed where the passport prints a zero will pass the form and fail at the border.
• Picking the category that looked simplest. Arriving on a tourist e-Visa to run business meetings is a misuse of the permit.
• New passport after the ETA was issued. Carry the old passport too. See India e-Visa on a new passport.

Which nationalities can use the system

Eligibility is nationality-specific on the portal. Check the passport in hand there. Travellers with a Pakistani passport or of Pakistani origin must apply for a regular visa at an Indian mission, the portal says. Diplomatic and official passport holders, and people with a defence, military, security or police background, are not eligible for e-Visa.

Check before you book

• Photo meets the portal rules in the table above.
• Passport bio-page PDF ready (10 KB to 300 KB), plus any category-specific PDF.
• Passport has at least six months' validity at the time of application, and two blank pages.
• Category matches the stated purpose.
• Fee paid at least 4 days before expected travel.
• ETA status shows GRANTED; copy printed or saved.
• Itinerary enters India at a designated airport or seaport, not a land border.

OTA and TMC support: send the customer the official photo checklist, not a third-party photo shop's version. Reject glasses, unequal sides and shadowed backgrounds before they pay. Remind them the fee is non-refundable. Do not promise processing times. For a passport-and-route requirement lookup, see requirements.

Sources

• Government of India, e-Visa portal: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/ (photo upload block, General Instructions, FAQ Q23 on land entry; opened 9 November 2026, Paris).
• Bureau of Immigration: https://boi.gov.in/ (link only; body text not re-quoted here).