India Just Retired the Tourist Visa, and the Form Got Two-Thirds Shorter

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs announced on Wednesday, November 11, a sweeping simplification of the country’s visa system. The number of main visa categories falls from 13 to nine, and the number of sub-categories shrinks from 49 to 23. The best-known change for leisure travelers is a new name: the Tourist Visa is being replaced by a broader Visitor Visa. According to Business Today, the new structure follows an earlier round of consolidation in October 2025 that had already cut the list of categories from 22 to 13.

The Visitor Visa comes in two forms. V-1 is a multiple-entry visa valid for 30 days that can cover sightseeing as well as short business meetings, medical consultations and brief courses. V-2 is designed for longer and repeat visits, with validity options of one, five or ten years, plus a six-month multiple-entry option for mountaineering expeditions. Folding several short-stay purposes into one visa should reduce the guesswork for travelers who previously had to pick the right narrow category before applying.

Other categories are being regrouped as well. Medical travel splits into M-1 for conventional treatment and M-3 for AYUSH traditional medicine, both one-year multiple-entry by default, with M-2 and M-4 for accompanying attendants. Students fall under S-1 and S-2, and business travelers under B-1 for long-term enterprise work and B-2 for shorter contracts and conferences. Across all 23 sub-categories, the government says the application form has been cut by roughly 65 to 70 percent, removing a common source of frustration for first-time applicants.

The changes are not live yet. Business Today reports that IT upgrades are in their final stages and that the new rules are expected to take effect by the end of 2026. India’s e-Visa currently covers citizens of 172 countries, so most visitors will continue applying online. Anyone planning a trip in the coming weeks should keep using the current categories on the official portal, and check again in late December to see whether the new Visitor Visa has gone live before booking a 2027 trip.

Sources: Business Today, Gulf News