India Visa from Dubai: e-Visa Fees by Passport, Visa on Arrival for Emiratis, OCI Cards and the e-Arrival Card

The short answer: Indian passport holders need no visa for India, so this guide is for everyone else: other UAE residents, Emiratis and OCI cardholders. Emiratis who have held an Indian visa before can use visa on arrival at nine airports; first-time Emirati visitors apply for an e-Visa instead, like most other UAE residents. The e-Visa covers around 175 nationalities, including the UAE, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and most Western passports, at fees from USD 10 for a short low-season trip up to USD 200 or more for five years. Pakistani and Egyptian nationals, and anyone of Pakistani origin, are not eligible for the e-Visa: they apply for a regular visa through Al Hind Tours & Travels, which has run India's visa and consular centres in the UAE since 22 July 2026. OCI cardholders need no visa at all, for life.

India draws UAE residents for family visits and holidays: the Kerala backwaters, Goa's beaches, the Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, and a short flight from Dubai on several airlines. Getting the right route matters because India's rules split sharply by passport. What works for a Filipino or Sri Lankan passport does not work for a Pakistani or Egyptian one, and a UAE residence visa by itself buys no special treatment.

India visa from Dubai at a glance

Passport or question	Answer (October 2026)
Indian passport	No visa needed, ever
Emirati, returning (held an Indian visa before)	Visa on arrival, up to 60 days, INR 2,000 at the airport
Emirati, first visit	e-Visa, applied online before travel
Filipino, Sri Lankan, most other UAE-resident passports	e-Visa online, from USD 10 to USD 200 depending on length
Pakistani, or of Pakistani origin	Not eligible for e-Visa or visa on arrival; regular visa only
Egyptian	Not on the e-Visa list; regular visa only
Bangladeshi	Eligible for e-Visa; a regular visa route also exists
OCI cardholder	No visa, ever; travel on the passport registered to the card
Where regular visas are processed in the UAE	Al Hind Tours & Travels' Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs), booked at consularsevainuae.com
e-Arrival card	Required for every foreign national and OCI holder, free, up to 72 hours before landing

Emiratis: visa on arrival or e-Visa

The Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi runs a Visa on Arrival (VoA) facility for UAE nationals, but only for those who have already held an Indian e-Visa or regular visa at some point, even if they never used it to travel. First-time Emirati visitors are not eligible for VoA and should apply for an e-Visa or a regular visa before they fly.

• Purpose: business, tourism, conference or medical trips
• Duration: up to 60 days, or two visits inside 60 days on a double-entry VoA
• Fee: INR 2,000, or the foreign-currency equivalent, per passenger including children, paid at the airport
• Airports: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Calicut and Ahmedabad
• Passport: at least six months' validity and two blank pages
• Procedure: fill in the Annexure-A form and hand it in at the visa counter, with a completed disembarkation card (the e-Arrival card covers this, see below)

VoA cannot be extended or converted into another visa type. It also does not apply to anyone whose parent or grandparent, on either side, was born in or was a permanent resident of Pakistan; those applicants need a regular visa from the Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General in Dubai instead.

The e-Visa for other UAE residents

Most UAE residents, and Emiratis on their first trip, apply for India's e-Visa at indianvisaonline.gov.in, the only official site. Around 175 countries and territories are eligible, including the UAE, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the UK and most other Western passports. Pakistani and Egyptian passports are not on the list.

e-Tourist visa categories

• 30 days: multiple entries, non-extendable, non-convertible; the 30 days run from your date of arrival in India, not the date the e-Visa was approved
• 1 year: multiple entries, valid for 365 days from approval, but you can stay no more than 180 days in any calendar year
• 5 years: multiple entries, valid for five years from approval, same 180-day-a-year cap

Fees

Passport	30 days (Apr to Jun)	30 days (Jul to Mar)	1 year	5 years
UAE, and most other eligible nationalities	USD 10	USD 25	USD 40	USD 200
Philippines	Free	Free	USD 40	USD 200
Sri Lanka	USD 10	USD 25	USD 25	USD 25
United Kingdom	USD 10	USD 25	USD 40	USD 484

Figures are from the government's country-wise e-Tourist visa fee list, dated 8 September 2026. Add a 3 percent bank transaction charge on top. Bangladeshi nationals are also e-Visa eligible; the portal shows your exact fee once you select your passport at application, so check it there before you pay.

How to apply

1. Apply at indianvisaonline.gov.in at least 4 days before you fly (e-Medical and e-Medical Attendant visas allow applying up to 120 days ahead).
2. Choose e-Tourist Visa and the length you want.
3. Upload your passport's photo page and a recent front-facing photo on a white background. Each traveller, children included, needs their own passport and application; a child endorsed on a parent's passport cannot apply.
4. Pay online. The fee is non-refundable whether the e-Visa is granted or not.
5. Your Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) arrives by email. Print or save it and travel within the window it states.
6. At Indian immigration, give fingerprints and have a photo taken. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram had self-service biometric kiosks running by September 2026 to speed this up; other arrival points still process it at the counter.

You must also carry a return or onward ticket and show you have enough money for your stay, and you can only enter through a designated e-Visa port: major airports such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Kochi are included, along with a growing list of seaports and land crossings added through 2026. Check the current list on the portal before you book a connection through a smaller airport.

Pakistani and Egyptian nationals: a regular visa, not an e-Visa

Pakistani and Egyptian passports are not on India's e-Visa eligible list, and neither is anyone whose parent or grandparent, on either side, was born in or was a permanent resident of Pakistan, even if they hold a different passport now. These applicants need a regular, paper visa from an Indian mission.

Where to apply, now

Since 22 July 2026, India's passport, visa and consular services across the UAE have run through Al Hind Tours & Travels, at 16 Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs), including Bur Dubai and Dubai Investment Park. Book at consularsevainuae.com; new slots open at 9am and 9pm daily, and centres run 8am to 6pm. The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General in Dubai no longer take these applications over the counter themselves. Al Hind replaced BLS International, the previous outsourced agent; if an older guide, including some pages still live on the consulate's own site, still names BLS, treat it as out of date.

Pakistani nationals

The Consulate General of India, Dubai says Pakistani passport holders are not eligible for a Tourist or Entry visa. Visit, Business, Medical and Conference visas remain open. You must already be a UAE resident: the consulate does not take applications from Pakistani nationals who are only visiting the UAE.

• The signed online application form, completed first at indianvisaonline.gov.in and then printed
• Two recent 51mm x 51mm photos on a white background, taken in the last three months
• Your passport, valid at least six months with two blank pages, plus photocopies of the current and any earlier passport, including your UAE residence visa page
• A Pakistan national reference FAX form, and a copy of any earlier Indian visa
• Colour copies of your Pakistani national ID card and Emirates ID, and proof of UAE residency in your name, such as a tenancy contract or a utility bill

A Visit visa also needs evidence of your travel purpose, your relationship to your host in India, your host's documents (an Indian passport copy, an NOC, a marriage or birth certificate in English) and an original sponsorship certificate attested by a designated Indian government officer; you may visit up to five places in India on a Visit visa. A Business visa has no place limit, but needs a Chamber of Commerce-attested invitation, your local sponsor's NOC and trade licence, five years of bank statements and a company audit report. Your entry and exit city must be the same, and if your last trip to India was on a tourist visa, leave a two-month gap before you apply again.

The consulate's fee page was not something we could read directly; Al Hind adds a flat AED 19 service charge on top of the government visa fee, and government fees were revised from 1 July 2026. Confirm the current total at consularsevainuae.com before you apply, and do not book flights until the application is accepted: submitting documents and paying the fee does not guarantee a visa. Processing takes longer than the e-Visa and no fixed timeline is published, so apply as early as you can.

Egyptian nationals

Egyptian passports sit outside the e-Visa list too, so Egyptian UAE residents apply for a regular visa the same way, through an Al Hind ICAC. The Indian missions in the UAE do not publish an Egypt-specific restriction on Tourist or Entry visas the way they do for Pakistan; check your eligible category and documents directly with the ICAC, or start the application at indianvisaonline.gov.in's regular-visa form.

Bangladeshi nationals

Bangladesh is on India's e-Visa eligible list, so most Bangladeshi UAE residents can apply online the same way as Filipino or Sri Lankan passport holders. The Consulate General in Dubai also runs a separate Tourist and Business visa route through the ICACs, with its own conditions: a Tourist visa asks for a combined monthly income, from the applicant, parent, guardian or spouse, of at least 20,000 Bangladeshi taka, while a Business visa asks for company turnover of at least 50,00,000 taka a year, individual income of at least 5,00,000 taka a year, and a letter of credit from an Indian bank. Most travellers find the e-Visa simpler; the regular route suits longer stays or purposes the e-Visa does not cover.

OCI cardholders and people of Indian origin

An Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card gives a foreign passport holder of Indian origin, or the foreign spouse of an Indian citizen or OCI holder, a multiple-entry, multi-purpose visa for India that lasts for life. No separate visa is ever needed for an ordinary visit. OCI is not citizenship: it does not allow voting or an Indian passport, and visits to restricted or protected areas still need separate permission.

Applying from the UAE

You need a UAE resident visa held for at least six months before you apply (a newborn's eligibility follows the parents' residence). Apply online first at ociservices.gov.in; once you upload your photo, signature and documents you cannot edit the form, so check everything first. Document verification then happens in person, now at an Al Hind ICAC rather than the consulate itself. As of May 2026, the Consulate General in Dubai listed a fresh OCI application at AED 1,002, a reissue for miscellaneous changes at AED 102, and a lost-or-damaged replacement at AED 372, on top of Al Hind's AED 19 service charge. Government fees were revised from 1 July 2026, so check the current total at consularsevainuae.com before you pay.

When you need a new card, and when you don't

Since April 2021, most passport renewals no longer need a new physical OCI card. You instead upload your new passport and a current photo online, free if you do it within three months of getting the new passport. A reissued card is needed only once, the first time you get a new passport after turning 20; nothing further is required once you are over 50. Foreign-spouse OCI holders also upload a declaration that the marriage is still subsisting each time they get a new passport.

The e-OCI card

On 30 June 2026, the Ministry of Home Affairs launched the e-OCI, a digital version of the card, downloadable from ociservices.gov.in or the Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app. From 8 July 2026, new applicants and anyone needing a reissue receive only the digital card; the physical booklet is no longer freshly printed. Existing physical booklets stay valid, and you no longer need to carry an old passport alongside your current one, but you should still travel on the passport registered to your card.

The e-Arrival card: a separate step for every visitor

Since 1 October 2025, every foreign national and OCI cardholder travelling to India, whatever visa or visa-free route they use, must also file an e-Arrival Card online, up to 72 hours before landing. It is free, filed at indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival, at boi.gov.in, or through the Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app, and it returns a QR code to show at immigration. It is not a visa and does not replace one: you still need your e-Visa, visa on arrival, or regular visa separately.

At launch, the paper disembarkation card continued alongside the e-Arrival card for up to six months "or until further notice." Indian media later reported the paper form was withdrawn, airport by airport, from around April 2026, but we could not confirm a single nationwide end date on an official notice. Fill in the e-Arrival card regardless, and keep the QR code ready on your phone or printed.

Flights from the UAE

• Emirates and flydubai fly from Dubai to multiple Indian cities, among them Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi.
• Air India and Air India Express connect Dubai and Abu Dhabi with a wide network of Indian cities, including smaller ones.
• IndiGo and Etihad also serve major Indian airports from Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

From Sharjah, check the current timetables. UAE-India schedules were disrupted for much of 2026, and some routes paused and resumed more than once, so confirm your flight and exact city pair with the airline before you book.

Frequently asked questions

Do Indians living in Dubai need a visa to visit India?

No. Indian passport holders never need a visa for India. This guide is for UAE residents of other nationalities, for Emiratis, and for OCI cardholders asking about their own status.

Do Emiratis need a visa for India?

Not always. Emiratis who have held an Indian e-Visa or regular visa before can use visa on arrival, up to 60 days, at nine designated airports, for INR 2,000. First-time Emirati visitors apply for an e-Visa or regular visa before they travel.

Who is eligible for India's e-Visa from the UAE?

Around 175 nationalities, including the UAE, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the UK and most other Western passports. Pakistani and Egyptian passports are not eligible, and neither is anyone with a Pakistani-origin parent or grandparent.

Can Pakistani nationals get an Indian e-Visa from Dubai?

No. Pakistani nationals are not eligible for any e-Visa category. They apply for a regular Visit, Business, Medical or Conference visa through an Indian Consular Application Centre run by Al Hind Tours & Travels, and must already live in the UAE to apply there.

Do OCI cardholders need a visa for India?

No. An OCI card works as a lifelong, multiple-entry visa on its own. Holders do need to keep their card's passport details current and travel on the passport registered to it, and restricted or protected areas still need separate permission.

What is the e-Arrival card, and is it the same as a visa?

It is a separate, free online form every foreign national and OCI holder must file up to 72 hours before landing in India. It is not a visa: you still need an e-Visa, visa on arrival, or regular visa as well.

Planning a trip to India

Delhi, Agra and Jaipur cover the Golden Triangle in about a week; add Kerala's backwaters or Goa's beaches for a second week, or Mumbai for a short city break. See our India visa services for help with your application, browse holiday packages, or talk to us about flights, hotels and itineraries.

Related guides

• UAE visa on arrival for Indians
• UAE visit visa for Pakistanis
• Nepal visa for UAE residents
• Sri Lanka visa for UAE residents

Last checked 9 October 2026 against India's e-Visa portal at indianvisaonline.gov.in and its e-Tourist visa fee schedule dated 8 September 2026, the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi's Visa on Arrival page, the Consulate General of India, Dubai's visa pages for Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals and its OCI page, the Ministry of Home Affairs' e-OCI launch notice, Indian mission notices on the e-Arrival card, the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi's July 2026 notice on Al Hind Tours & Travels, and airline sites. This guide is general information, not immigration advice. Confirm the current requirements with indianvisaonline.gov.in, the Consulate General of India, Dubai, or an Al Hind Indian Consular Application Centre before you apply or travel.