Medical Visa India- Every Single Thing You Need to Know

Over the years, India has been constantly progressing in terms of medical facilities, medicines and health centre. There have been great innovations and improvements on medical grounds combined with affordable prices of obtaining the medical services in India. If you will check the prices of healthcare services in other countries like the UK and the USA, they are relatively higher than India. All this has led to an increased number of patients from all over the world visiting the country to obtain medical services. Ultimately, this has given birth to the need for applying for an Indian medical visa.

Before jumping directly to the visa application process, let’s learn more about the medical visa. 

Types of Medical Visa

You may know that Visa has been divided into a number of categories and you need to apply for the one that serves your purpose of visiting the country. Similarly, if you have any medical urgency to visit the country, ‘medical visa’ is the one you have to apply for. A Medical Visa is issued by the Government of India to those seeking medical treatment in reputed/recognized specialized hospitals/treatment centres in India

A medical visa to India can be obtained in two ways- 

• e-Medical Visa (Applying online)
• Regular Medical Visa (visiting the Embassy) 

Both the visas have slightly different procedures as the e-Medical visa India can be applied online while the regular one has to be obtained by physically visiting the Consulate, submitting the documents and making the payment. 

Also, Up to two attendants are allowed to accompany the applicant under separate ‘e-Medical attendant visa India’ but they must be blood relatives of the patient. 

Duration and Validity

Medical visa is valid for a maximum of 1 year or for the total period of treatment, whichever comes early. The patient can enter the country thrice in a calendar year. The visa validity starts from the day of issuance and not from the day of entry into India. If a visa extension is required, you need to produce a medical certificate and submit it to the state department and the Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO). This way the visa can be extended for an additional year.

However, if you are undergoing short term medical treatment, you can apply for the e-Medical visa that is valid for 60 days from the date of arrival and triple entries can be made. 2 medical trips can be made throughout the year. 

Documentation Required for Medical Visa India

The documents required to be produced to apply for a medical visa are:

• Scanned Bio Page of the passport that has the photograph and personal details. Also, the passport must be valid for the next six months. 
• Copy of letter from the Hospital in India on its letterhead including the date on which admission has been recommended.
• A digitally scanned photograph as per the pre-specified specifications and the photograph must not be older than 6 months.

Documents specifications

For Digital Photograph:

Format- JPEG

Size- Min- 10KB, Max- 1MB

The photograph must have equal height and width.

The photograph should show a full frontal view of the face with eyes open and no specs.

Head must be within the frame and full head from top to bottom must be clearly visible.

A plain light or white colored background and no shadows on the face or background without borders.

Bio Page of the passport

Format –PDF

Size: Min 10 KB, Max 300 KB

Document for Medical Purpose

Format –PDF 

Size: Min 10 KB, Max 300 KB

Which Countries Are Eligible To Apply For Medical Visa India?

Foreign nationals of 169 countries are eligible to apply for e-Medical Visa, while the remaining countries can apply under the regular visa.

The eligible countries are:

Albania, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon Republic, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Island, Chile, China, China- Macau, China- SAR Hong Kong, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte D’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger Republic, Niue Island, Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Christopher And Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States Of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City – Holy See, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

What are the entry and exit points with Medical Indian Visa?

Entry Points-

There are 28 international airports from where you can enter into India- 

Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, Calicut, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kochi, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Port Blair, Pune, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum, Varanasi, and Vishakhapatnam.

Five seaports-

Kochi, Goa, Mangalore, Mumbai, Chennai.

Exit Points-

Airports

Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Calicut, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kannur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Port Blair, Pune, Srinagar, Surat, Tiruchirapalli, Tirupati, Trivandrum, Varanasi, Vijaiwada, and Vishakhapatnam.

Seaports

Alang, BediBunder, Bhavnagar, Calicut, Chennai, Cochin, Cuddalore, Kakinada, Kandla, Kolkata, Mandvi, Mormugao Harbour, Mumbai Seaport, Nagapattinam, Nhava Sheva, Paradeep, Porbandar, Port Blair, Tuticorin, Vishakhapatnam, New Mangalore, Vizhinjam, Agati and Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep UT, Vallarpadam, Mundra, Krishnapatnam, Dhubri, Pandu, Nagaon, Karimganj, and Kattupalli

How Much Does It Cost To Obtain Medical Visa?

Countries Eligible for free e-Visa to India

Argentina, Cook Islands, Fiji, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, Niue Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Vanuatu.

Cost to Obtain e-Medical Visa

$25- Japan, Singapore and Sri Lanka

$80- Aruba, Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Angola, Anguilla, Armenia, Antigua & Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cameroon, Cambodia, Chile, China, China- Sar Hong Kong, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Island, China – Macau, Comoros, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Dominica, Ecuador, Eritrea, East Timor, , Hungary, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Vatican City – Holy See, Honduras, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Cote D’Ivoire, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Republic Of Korea, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Madagascar, Malawi, , Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Montserrat, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger Republic, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Macedonia, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Saint Vincent And The Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Switzerland, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Spain, Swaziland, Suriname, Slovenia, Saint Christopher And Nevis, Sweden, Slovakia, Tanzania, Thailand, Taiwan, Trinidad And Tobago, Tajikistan, Turks And Caicos Islands, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Zambia.

$100- Mozambique, Russia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the USA.

For a regular Medical Visa, the fees depend on the type of visa you have applied for and the duration. 

What services can be availed under medical visa?

Here is the list of the healthcare services that can be availed by applying for an Indian e-medical visa:

1. Heart-related problems
2. Neurosurgery
3. Organ transplantation
4. Renal disorders
5. Congenital disorders
6. Ophthalmic disorders
7. Joint replacement
8. Gene therapy
9. Plastic surgery
10. Radiotherapy
11. Ayurveda Treatment

How to apply for an Indian medical visa?

The e-Medical visa applicants need to apply online at the official website of the Indian Government at least 4 days before the date of travel. Click on the ‘Apply here for e-Visa’ option and you will be directed towards the medical visa application form where you have to select the type of visa you are applying for. 

Enter the details that are asked for such as personal details, address details, occupation, relationships, criminal history, etc. Make sure that the information you enter is entirely valid and correct else it will lead to the rejection of the application. 

You will also need to upload certain documents such as recent photographs, scanned copy of the bio page of passport and medical documents in the specified format. 

Once you are satisfied with the information entered, proceed towards the payment. After this, you will receive an Application ID, and the e-Visa will be sent to you via email within three to five days. You can even check the status of your visa from the website by entering your application ID. 

Don’t forget to carry your copy of ETA when you travel to India as you have to show it at the immigration counter at the airport. The immigration officer will put a stamp on your passport with your e-Visa for entry into India. 

How Much Time Does It Take For The Processing Of Medical Visa India?

The best part of electronic medical visa is that the processing is relatively quick as compared to the regular one. Once you submit the application, it will take around 4-7 business days to reach out to you via email. Moreover, if you have any sort of medical emergency, you can opt for an urgent medical visa. Medical emergencies don’t wait and can arise anytime. So you can apply for a visa under urgent processing and the maximum chances are that you will receive the visa within 24-72 hours. 

If you are applying for a visa through Embassy, the Indian Mission takes a minimum of 3 working days to process the visa after receiving the Visa Application through the Indian Visa Application center and then issue a visa depending upon the nationality and excluding special cases.

Can Visa on arrival be obtained for medical reasons?

Nationals of Japan, UAE, and South Korea can also apply for an e-Medical visa on arrival and the visa is valid for 60 days. This option can be availed twice in a calendar year. Entry through visa on arrival can be made only through limited airports: Delhi (NCT), Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru or Hyderabad.

If the citizens want to enter the country through an airport or seaport not covered by the Visa on Arrival scheme, they can apply for an e-Visa.

How to convert tourist visa to medical visa in India?

A good news for those who visit India for tourism purposes but fall sick can avail medical facilities with their Primary visa such as e-Tourist or e-Business visa India anywhere in India. However, this facility is not available for all foreign nationals and has been only extended to a few foreign visitors.

As per the statement issued by the Indian Government, ‘Indoor medical treatment can now be availed on the original visa for pre-existing diseases that the foreign nationals may have been suffering before his or her entry into India and for an illness that he was aware of.

As per Ministry, foreign citizens who suffer from minor illness should refer to OPD (Out Patient Department) or recognized hospital of Indian Government along with their regular Visa. 

Here are the statements issued by Indian Ministry: “A foreign citizen is allowed to take indoor medical treatment in a recognized hospital subject to certain conditions in case of indoor medical treatment of less than 180 days or up to the stipulation period if any. The stipulation period of the primary visa or the duration of his or her primary visa, whichever is earlier” However, for ‘Organ Transplant’ treatment, a valid Medical Visa is still required. Apart from that, foreigners are allowed to avail of indoor treatment for other pre-existent diseases.

Important Tips While Applying for Medical Visa to India

• Before you apply, make sure you have started the medical treatment in your country and have been recommended to continue with the treatment in India.
• Make sure to seek medical treatment in a recognized institution that has its specialization in that medical condition.
• The passport must have two blank pages to get the visa stamped. 
• The e-Medical visa is non-extendable, non-convertible and doesn’t stand valid for visiting restricted areas of India.
• You need to have sufficient funds to finance their stay in India.
• Make sure to carry a copy of your approved e-Visa along with you throughout the stay.
• You need to have a return or onward ticket while applying for an e-Medical Visa.
• You can apply for the medical visa minimum 4 days prior to the date of travel and max 120 days. 
• e-Visa fees once paid is non-refundable in all the cases. So make sure to carefully check the application before proceeding towards the payment section.