Indian e-Visa step by step, and the Consulate Hamburg checklist

Who needs a visa?

• Indian passport: no visa. Just fly.
• German or other foreign passport: e-Visa (online) or a regular visa (at the consulate).
• OCI card: no visa. Carry the OCI card and the passport it is linked to.

e-Visa or consulate?

• e-Visa: fully online, decided in India, usually a few days. The consulate can not help with an e-Visa.
• Regular visa: online form + appointment + paper documents at the consulate. Use it if the e-Visa is rejected, too slow, or the wrong type.

The e-Visa form, screen by screen

Takes 30 to 45 minutes. Use a laptop, not a phone. Uploads from phones often fail.

Have this ready

• Passport, valid for at least 6 more months
• Photo: JPEG, 10 KB to 1 MB, at least 350 × 350 pixels, square, light background, face straight. Not cut out of the passport.
• Passport photo page as PDF: maximum 300 KB, only that one page
• Parents' passports (names, places of birth)
• Old Indian visa, if the child was in India before
• An address and phone in India and in Germany
• Credit or debit card

1. Start page. Nationality, passport type, port of arrival (the airport you will really land at), date of birth, email, arrival date (at least 4–5 days from today). Purpose: e-Tourist Visa → Meeting friends/relatives.
   Trap 1: there are three tourist visas: 30 days, 1 year, 5 years. Check which one is selected before you click Continue. It cannot be changed later. Wrong one? Start a new application. The old one simply expires if you do not pay.
   Screenshot the Temporary Application ID. It is valid for 7 days.
2. Applicant and passport. Names exactly as in the passport, in capitals. National ID: NA. Visible marks: NONE. Small child's education: Below Matriculation. Child born in Germany: By Birth. Type the passport number letter by letter: 0 and O, 1 and I look the same.
3. Address and family.
   Trap 2: no commas, dots, dashes or underscores in address fields. Otherwise "Invalid characters" and the form can empty itself. Write SCHLESWIG HOLSTEIN, not "Schleswig-Holstein".
   Phone with country code, no plus, no first zero: 0157 1234567 → 491571234567. Tick "same address". Parents: name, nationality, place of birth. Child: Single. The Pakistan question: read it and answer truthfully.
4. Visa details. Places to visit (no commas). Hotel via tour operator: No, if with family. Relative in India: a real person you can reach by phone. Port of exit. Visited India before? Then the old visa number, type, place and date from the sticker. "Refused before?" is often set to Yes by default. Check it.
5. The six security questions.
   Trap 3, the biggest: all six can already be set to Yes when the page opens (arrested, deported, trafficking, terrorism, asylum). Sent like this, the visa is rejected. Click the true answer for every single one.
6. Photo upload. Choose the JPEG → Upload Photo → keep the face in the crop box → Crop and Save. Odd colours when you photograph the laptop screen are only the screen.
7. Passport PDF. Choose the PDF → Upload Document → status must say Uploaded → tick → Confirm. Check the file name: a PDF on the photo page, or a photo on the PDF page, is the most common mix-up.
8. Check everything. Read the summary to the end before "Verified and Continue". After payment nothing can be changed and the fee is not refunded.
9. Payment. Screenshot the final 12-character Application ID. Save the application form. Undertaking: Yes → Pay Now.
   Trap 4: after 3 failed payments the ID is blocked and you must fill everything again. One failure? Stop and check your card limit first.
   "Payment Success" → Generate Fee Receipt and save it. Payment must be done at least 4 days before the journey.

The emails, and which ones to ignore

Before the flight

• Carry the same passport you used in the form, plus the ETA printout.
• Child travelling with one parent: a short consent letter from the other parent with a passport copy saves trouble.
• Book the flight only after the visa is granted. Cheap tickets are rarely refunded.

Regular visa at the Consulate General of India, Hamburg

For people living in Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein.

1. Apply online on the regular visa form, upload photo and documents, print the form.
2. Book an appointment with the consulate.
3. Go with the paper form. Stick a 2 × 2 inch photo on it, the same as online. Sign everywhere. For a child, the parents sign.
4. Follow the status. When it says "Printed", pick up the passport on any working day between 16:00 and 17:00, no appointment needed. Or by post if you left an envelope.

Documents for a child (tourist visa)

• Original passport (6+ months valid, 2 empty pages) + copy signed by you
• 1 photo, 2 × 2 inch (5 × 5 cm), white background, same as online
• Copy of the Meldebescheinigung, signed by you
• Copy of the confirmed flight ticket
• Birth certificate (copy)
• Passport copies of both parents
• Consent letter signed by both parents
• Court custody document, only if there is one
• Visa fee (amount on the consulate's fee page; bring proof if paid by transfer)
• Optional: A5 envelope with your address and 4.45 € stamps (Einschreiben)

Not a German citizen? Also a copy of the German residence permit and the consulate's Additional Form. Former Indian citizen? Also the surrender or renunciation certificate.

Your checklist

Tick as you go. Your ticks stay saved on this device only.

• Only the official site: indianvisaonline.gov.in
• Visa type checked before Continue (30 days / 1 year / 5 years)
• Temporary Application ID screenshot
• Names and passport number letter by letter
• No commas, dots or dashes in addresses
• Phone numbers with country code, no plus, no first zero
• "Refused before" and the six security questions checked
• Photo JPEG ≤ 1 MB uploaded
• Passport PDF ≤ 300 KB uploaded, status "Uploaded"
• Summary page read to the end
• Final Application ID + fee receipt saved
• ETA email received and printed
• Flight booked only after approval
• e-Arrival card filled within 72 hours before landing