India e-Arrival Card - Required for All Foreign Visitors

If you are flying to India any time after 1 October 2025, you must fill out a new digital form called the e-Arrival Card before you board your flight. It replaces the paper "disembarkation card" airlines used to hand out on the plane or at immigration. The form is free, takes only a few minutes, and is filed online at the Government of India's official portal.

Official link: indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival

Be careful — several third-party websites charge a "service fee" for filling in the same form. There is no charge from the Indian government, and there is no advantage to using a paid service.

Who needs to file an e-Arrival Card

Every passenger arriving in India who is not an Indian citizen with an Indian passport. That includes:

• All foreign nationals holding a tourist visa, business visa, e-Visa or any other category.
• All OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) cardholders, regardless of how often you have travelled before.
• PIO cardholders who have not yet converted to OCI.

If you are travelling on an Indian passport you do not need this form.

When to fill it out

• The form must be submitted within 72 hours of your arrival in India — i.e. no earlier than three days before your flight lands.
• Submit it before boarding the flight. Many airlines now check at the gate that you have your e-Arrival Card receipt.
• If you are connecting through another country, the 72-hour window is calculated from your arrival in India, not from when you leave home.

Filing it the day before you fly is the easiest pattern: you will have your final flight details, your seat assignment and your hotel address all confirmed.

Information you need before you start

Have these ready when you sit down to fill the form:

• Your passport (number, issue and expiry dates, place of issue).
• Your visa or OCI card details.
• Your flight number and arrival date and time in India.
• The address of the first place you will stay in India — hotel name and address, or the address of family or friends.
• Your purpose of visit (tourism, business, medical, attending a conference, visiting family, etc.).
• A list of any countries you have visited in the past six days (a public-health screening question — answer it accurately).
• An email address where you can receive the confirmation.

How to fill it out — step by step

1. Open indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival on a phone, tablet or laptop. Bookmark only the official URL — links shared on social media and in WhatsApp groups sometimes point to copy-cat sites.
2. The portal offers a Quick Fill From Existing Data option in the left panel — if you have travelled to India before and have a passport number on file, you can pre-populate part of the form. Otherwise, enter everything fresh.
3. Fill in the Personal Details section: full name exactly as on your passport, passport number, nationality, and your purpose of visit.
4. Fill in the Arrival Details: arrival date, flight number, port of arrival, the address of where you will stay, and the list of countries visited in the last six days (or check "No Country Visited" if applicable).
5. Enter the CAPTCHA shown on screen and click Next.
6. Review the summary carefully. A typo in your passport number or flight number is the kind of thing that creates trouble at immigration.
7. Submit. You will receive a confirmation email with a unique reference number.
8. Save and print the confirmation — keep a printed copy in your travel folder and a screenshot on your phone. The airline at check-in or the boarding gate may ask to see it, and the immigration officer in India may also ask.

What happens at the airport

When you land in India, queue at the appropriate immigration counter (e-Visa, regular visa, or OCI). The immigration officer will look up your e-Arrival Card record using your passport number, verify the details, and stamp you in. There is no separate paper form to hand over — the card lives in the immigration system the moment you submit it online.

If you arrive without an e-Arrival Card, you will most likely be sent to fill one out at a kiosk in the arrivals hall before you can clear immigration. Avoid this — it adds a long wait at the end of a long flight.

Common questions

Is the e-Arrival Card the same as my visa? No. You still need a valid visa or OCI card and the e-Arrival Card. They are two separate things.

Does it cost anything? No. The official Government of India service is completely free. If a website asks for payment, you are on the wrong site.

Do children need their own form? Yes. Each traveller, including children on their own passport, needs an individual e-Arrival Card.

What if my flight is delayed and I miss the 72-hour window? Refile the form once you know your new arrival time. Each submission is tied to your passport number, and a new submission supersedes the previous one.

Can I fill it out at the airport instead? Technically yes, but you risk being held back at boarding by your airline if you do not have the confirmation, and you will queue at a kiosk on arrival in India. Filing online before you fly is by far the smoother route.

Related guides on this site

• How to Get a Visa to Visit India — the e-Visa is required in addition to the e-Arrival Card.
• Arriving in India for the first time — what to expect at customs and immigration once you land.
• Plan Your Visit pre-trip checklist — the full pre-departure checklist for first-time visitors to India.

Visa rules and arrival procedures change from time to time. Verify the current rules on the official portal — indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival — before you fly.