The most common visa for visitors is a tourist visa. You can also apply for business, employment, journalist, medical, student, transit and conference visas among others.
The most affordable visa is the tourist visa. As of 2009, fees start at £30 for six-month validity. Business visa fees start at £105, while employment visas start at £285 for six-month validity.
Visas are valid from the date that they are granted. A six-month visa is valid for six months from that date that it is stamped in your passport, not for six months from the day you enter India. One-year tourist visas are valid for one year, but you can only stay in the country for 180 days during that one-year period.
You can apply for most Indian visas from within the United Kingdom, excluding diplomatic visas, online. For a simple tourist visa, you will need a passport valid for at least 190 days, two blank visa pages, the visa fee, two passport-sized photos and a completed application form.
Photos for an Indian visa granted in the U.K. must be 3.5 cm wide by 4.5 cm high.
