e-Business Visa (e-B1)
Meetings, negotiations, board attendance, supplier visits. India issues a one year multiple entry e-Business visa for those, and short trips are the whole point.
It is the fastest way into India for a commercial visit and the easiest thing on this page to get wrong once you are inside the country. The one year validity is repeatedly mistaken for a year of residence. It is not. Each individual stay is capped, the visa cannot be converted into anything, and it does not permit you to be paid by an Indian entity.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Short business trips, board meetings, negotiations, recruiting staff |
| Route family | Business |
| Validity | 1 year from electronic travel authorisation grant |
| Stay per entry | 180 days |
| Threshold | None |
| Renewal | No renewal in country. A fresh application is required |
| Settlement | None |
| PR clock | None |
| Citizenship clock | None |
| Family | No dependants may be added. Each traveller applies separately |
| Local employment | No |
| Tax headline | Visitor status. No local payroll permitted |
| Processing | Online, typically 72 hours. Apply at least 4 days ahead |
Application flow
- Confirm your purpose fits the business category. Meetings, negotiations, vendor supervision and recruitment qualify. Paid work does not.
- Apply at indianvisaonline.gov.in and upload a photograph and passport page.
- Pay the fee online. The amount is set by nationality and is not the same for everyone.
- Receive the electronic travel authorisation, usually within 72 hours.
- Complete the e-Arrival Card before boarding. It has been mandatory since 1 October 2025.
- Present the authorisation and the arrival card at immigration. Biometrics are captured at the airport.
- Leave within 180 days of entry, or register with the FRRO inside two weeks of the 180th day if a longer single stay has been authorised.
Good fit
A two week trip to negotiate a contract, a quarterly board meeting, a founder visiting suppliers, or a recruiting trip. People who need to be in India soon and do not want to post a passport to a consulate.
Poor fit
A founder who intends to stay and run the Indian entity day to day. That is work, it needs an employment visa, and doing it on an e-Business Visa is a status violation. Also a poor fit for anyone bringing family, since no dependants can be attached.
Watchpoints
- The one year is visa validity, not permission to reside. You can enter for a year. You cannot stay for a year.
- Each visit is capped at 180 days. Staying beyond that requires FRRO registration within two weeks of the 180th day, and it is not automatic.
- It cannot be converted to an employment visa in India. You leave and reapply at a mission, with a fresh fee.
- No dependants. Family members apply separately, usually on a tourist visa, and their permission is independent of yours.
- Drawing any salary in India breaches the status. The consequence is exit and possibly a re-entry ban, not a fine you can pay at the airport.
- The portal is the only legitimate channel. Paid copycat sites charge multiples of the government fee for the same form.
Sources
- Indian Visa Online, e-Business Visa category and conditions. Checked 2026-10-22.
- Bureau of Immigration, e-Arrival Card requirement. Checked 2026-10-22.
- High Commission of India, London, business visa guidance. Checked 2026-10-22.