India cuts visa categories from 13 to 9; Tourist Visa is now Visitor Visa

India has cut the number of main visa categories from 13 to nine and the sub-categories from 49 to 23, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Wednesday (11 November). The old Tourist Visa has been renamed the Visitor Visa. The ministry also said the number of fields in application forms for all 23 sub-categories has been reduced by 65% to 70%.

According to the Press Information Bureau, the change was made by the MHA on 27 August 2026. It follows an earlier round in October 2025, when main categories were cut from 22 to 13 and sub-categories from 63 to 49. To put the changes in place, the ministry is updating its IT systems, and by year-end visas will be granted under the new structure, the PIB said.

The Visitor Visa is split into two. V-1 covers short stays of 30 days with multiple entries, including tourism, business meetings, medical consultations, wellness retreats, short medical treatment and short courses in Indian languages, music, art and craft. V-2 is for longer visits and is valid for one, five or 10 years. It covers everything V-1 does, plus mountaineering, for which a six-month multiple-entry visa will be granted.

The Student Visa is now two sub-categories as well. S-1 covers school, graduate and post-graduate education. S-2 covers PhD and research scholars, visiting faculty, internships, exchange students and scientific and anthropological expeditions.

The nine main categories are Business, Diplomatic, Work, Journalist, Medical, Official, Student, Visitor and Miscellaneous, according to DD News. The Miscellaneous category includes people of Indian origin and their spouses and children, and long-term visas for certain nationals from neighbouring countries.

The ministry said e-visas are currently processed under 13 sub-categories and are available to nationals of 172 countries. It said the exercise is meant to boost tourist arrivals, medical travel and foreign student arrivals, and to reduce overlap between categories.