India Opens Attari Border, 10 Other Ports For E-Visa Holders

New Delhi: The Centre has notified 11 additional international ports, including the India-Pakistan border in Attari, Punjab, allowing e-visa holders to enter India. With the latest addition -- which included two airports and nine land ports -- the total number of international connectors enabling entry for E-Visa holders has increased to 88, including 37 airports, 38 seaports, and 13 land ports, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs. All foreigners, except Pakistanis, will be allowed to avail themselves of the benefit of the new move, as India does not grant e-visas to travellers with Pakistani passports or Pakistani origin. "They may please apply for a regular visa at the Indian Mission," according to the Indian visa application e-portal. The e-visa facility is currently available to 17 sub-categories of travellers, including medical, student, mountaineering, cruise, tourist, transit, group travel, and business, among others. Around 95 per cent of applications are processed within 72 hours. The latest move is expected to enhance the attractiveness and utility of the electronic visa.List of Newly Added PortsThe Ministry of Home Affairs added 9 land ports to the list-- Darranga, Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon, Dawki, Moreh, and Attari (Road). Raxaul, Rupaidiha, and Jogbani borders were already on the list. The two airports that have been added are Bhopal and Tirupati. Other airports on the list include Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bhogapuram, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Calicut, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa (Dabolim), Goa (Mopa), Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kannur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Port Blair, Pune, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Trichy, Varanasi, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam. India has also extended the facility to 38 seaports, inlcuding Agatti, Alang, Bedi Bandar, Bhavnagar, Calicut, Chennai, Cochin, Cuddalore, Dahej, Dhamra, Haldia, Hazira, Kakinada, Ennore-Kamarajar, Kandla, Karaikal, Kattupalli, Kolkata, Kollam, Krishnapatnam, Mandvi, Mormugao, Mumbai, Mundra, Nagapattinam, New Mangalore, Nhava Sheva, Paradeep, Pipavav, Porbandar, Port Blair, Sikka, Tuna Tekra, Tuticorin, Vallarpadam, Visakhapatnam, Vizhinjam-Kovalam and Vizhinjam.India introduced the e-visa facility in 2014 to liberalise and simplify the Indian visa regime for nationals of 43 countries. The facility has now expanded to serve citizens from 172 countries.