India Cuts Visa Categories From 13 to 9 and Renames the Tourist Visa

India has cut its main visa categories from 13 to 9 and its sub-categories from 49 to 23, and the Tourist Visa has been renamed the Visitor Visa. The Ministry of Home Affairs made the cut on 27th August, 2026, and the ministry set out the full details in a Press Information Bureau release posted on 11 Nov 2026. Application forms also get shorter, with the fields for all 23 sub-categories reduced by 65%-70%. Visas are not yet issued under the new categories, because the ministry is updating the IT systems and by year-end, visas will be granted as per new rationalization. For Metaintro readers planning to study, visit, do business or take up a technical posting in India, this guide covers the nine new categories, what each one allows, and what to use until the new system starts.

What Exactly Did India Change in Its Visa System?

The August decision is the latest round of cuts, and it follows an earlier rationalisation in October, 2025, when the main visa categories were reduced from 22 to 13 and sub-categories from 63 to 49.

The overhaul was formalised after a high-level review meeting in August, where officials decided to introduce sweeping amendments to various chapters and Appendices I and II of the Visa Manual, 2019, according to Business Today. While drawing up the new structure, the government studied the Visa system of the developed countries and global standards.

Similar purposes of travel were grouped to provide greater clarity and ease in identifying the appropriate visa category, and the step aims at making the regime more compact, coherent and responsive to the requirements of foreign nationals visiting India.

What Are the Nine New Visa Categories?

The revised framework has nine main categories, Business, Diplomatic, Work, Journalist, Medical, Official, Student, Visitor and Miscellaneous. Each one is granted for set purposes, which the ministry lists category by category, as summarised below.

• Business Visa. It covers long-term business activities including establishing an industrial/business venture, plus short-term business activities such as sports and cultural or commercial performances, production investment business, conferences and film shoots.
• Work Visa. It is for long-term employment with Indian companies or organisations, working in NGOs and missionary activities.
• Journalist Visa. It is granted to journalists accredited in India.
• Student Visa. It covers school/graduate/post-graduate education, studies in Yoga, Vedic Culture & Indian Music/Dance, Buddhist studies, studies of Indian Languages & Indian knowledge systems, research, internship and exchange students.
• Visitor Visa. It covers tourism, short-term activities including business meetings, medical consultations & Wellness retreats, transit and mountaineering.
• Medical Visa. It is for people coming for intensive or indoor medical treatment, including treatment under AYUSH systems and their attendants.
• Diplomatic and Official Visas. These cover diplomats including UN Diplomats assigned to India or visiting India and non-diplomatic officials including UN non-diplomatic officials assigned to India or on a visit to India, along with their dependents.
• Miscellaneous Visa. It covers Persons of Indian Origin and their spouses and children, those coming to join various specified institutions like Auroville Foundation, dependents of foreign nationals coming on various long duration visas, stay visas for Afghanistan nationals, Long Term Visas for certain categories of nationals from neighbouring countries and other miscellaneous purposes not covered by any other visa category.

Taken together, the changes reduce overlap between visa categories.

What Replaces the Tourist Visa, and How Do V-1 and V-2 Work?

The renaming of the Tourist Visa is among the significant changes. The Visitor Visa takes in a broader range of permitted purposes beyond conventional tourism, and it is split into two sub-categories, V-1 and V-2.

The V-1 is the short option. It is granted for 30 days with multiple entries, and in addition to other eligible visitor activities it covers business meetings, medical consultations, wellness retreats, short-duration medical treatment and short-term courses in Indian languages, music, art and craft. Short-duration yoga programmes are also included.

The V-2 is for longer and repeat visits. It carries a validity of 1, 5 or 10 years, as specified, and covers everything allowed under V-1 plus mountaineering. Climbers get their own rule, with a visa of six months, with multiple entries for mountaineering.

The erstwhile Tourist Visa has been renamed Visitor Visa, reflecting a broader range of permitted purposes beyond conventional tourism, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs release.

Once the new system is live, the Visitor Visa is meant to make visa selection simpler for travellers who may combine leisure with business meetings, medical consultations, wellness retreats or cultural learning.

Business meetings are allowed under the Visitor Visa, but long-term employment with Indian companies belongs under the separate Work Visa.

What Changes for Foreign Students Under S-1, S-2 and e-S1?

The Student Visa now has two broad sub-categories. The S-1 covers school, graduate and post-graduate education. The S-2 covers PhD and research scholars in Indian universities, visiting faculty, foreign research students visiting India for research, scientific and anthropological expeditions, internships and exchange students, among other specified academic activities.

For students enrolled in Indian educational institutions through the Study in India portal, the e-S1 Visa may be granted for up to five years or for the duration of the academic course, whichever is less, with multiple entries. Validity linked to the course duration can also minimise procedural interruptions and make it easier for eligible students to travel during their studies.

India already ran an online student route. By January 2025 the ministry had introduced the e-student and e-student-x visas, the second one for dependents of e-student visa holders. Under that route, students apply for the visa on the Indian Visa Online site after receiving an admission offer letter from any of the SII partner institutes.

The Study in India portal, a flagship project of the Ministry of Education, is the gateway for the e-S1. Students can explore from 24000+ courses in more than 1200+ Indian Institutes on the portal's current homepage, and apply with their SII ID and offer letter for a fast tracked visa. After arrival there is one more deadline, because students must within 14 days register for E FRRO/FRRP with SII ID.

What Changes for Business Travellers and Foreign Engineers?

The Business Visa is now consolidated into B-1 and B-2. The B-1 covers long-term, licence-based business activities, including foreign nationals seeking to establish industrial or business ventures in India. The B-2 covers short-term, contract-based business activities, including Production Investment Business, conferences, sports, performative arts and films.

A specific provision covers foreign subject-matter specialists, engineers and technical personnel engaged by Indian companies. The tasks it lists are installation and commissioning, quality checks and essential maintenance, production, IT and ERP ramp-up, training, supply-chain development, plant design and bring-up, senior management and technical support, including transfer of know-how, technology and services.

These specialists may be granted a Production Investment Business Visa under the B-2 category through the e-Visa platform. That is a new name for an existing route, because the same visa was earlier granted under e-B4 visa nomenclature. The current portal lists an e-Production Investment Visa among its e-Visa types.

The split between the two is meant to give firms greater clarity when planning long-term investments and short-term contractual assignments.

What Happens to Work and Employment Visas?

The new list has a Work Visa for long-term employment with Indian companies/organizations, working in NGOs and missionary activities. The ministry has set out sub-categories for the visitor, student, medical and business visas, and none for the Work Visa. Under the current rules, e-Visa is not allowed for employment, and applicants are told they may apply for a Regular Visa.

The changes are framed as making the system easier for visitors, patients, students, researchers, investors and business professionals, and they stay subject to applicable eligibility criteria and conditions.

What Does the New Medical Visa Mean for Patients and Carers?

Medical travel keeps two tracks. The M-1 Visa covers medical treatment other than treatment under AYUSH systems, while M-3 Visa covers treatment under AYUSH systems.

Both M-1 and M-3 Visas, including their e-Visa variants, will be granted for one year as a default option with multiple entries. Family members or carers travelling with a patient use the attendant visas, where the M-2 visa will be issued to attendants accompanying M-1 visa holders, while the M-4 visa will cover attendants of M-3 visa holders.

The one-year default is meant to give patients greater predictability when treatment involves multiple consultations, follow-up appointments or staged procedures. Multiple-entry validity can reduce the need for repeated visa applications during a course of care.

How Much Shorter Will the Application Forms Be?

The form cut covers all 23 categories and sub-categories, and the aim is to significantly reduce the information required from foreign national.

The leaner forms are meant to remove overlapping, repetitive, and redundant columns while keeping core security and background checks intact, according to Business Today. The forms are meant to keep the essential details necessary for visa processing, and the shorter layout is set to allow more focused scrutiny and processing of visa application.

The reduction in categories and application fields does not mean that eligibility requirements or supporting documentation have been removed, according to the Business Standard explainer.

When Do the New Rules Start, and What Should You Use Until Then?

The new framework will not become operational immediately. Visas under the new arrangements are expected to be issued by the end of 2026, once the ministry finishes updating the IT systems, and by year-end, visas will be granted as per the new rationalisation, with no exact switch-over date given.

Until then, applications run on the current system, where the e-visa facility is presently available to the nationals of 172 countries. The official Indian Visa Online portal still lists a one-month, a one-year and a five-year e-Tourist Visa, plus a separate six-month e-Tourist Visa (e-T2 V). For the one-year and five-year versions, the portal sets a maximum stay of 180 days in one calendar year.

For an e-Visa under the current portal rules, your passport should have at least six months validity at the time of making application for grant of e-Visa and at least two blank pages for stamping by the Immigration Officer, and e-Tourist and e-Business applicants may apply online minimum 4 days in advance of the date of arrival. The fee is country/Territory specific, and once paid it is non-refundable.

Use the official site only. Indian Visa Online is the only official website to apply for e-Visa services, and travellers are advised to go through instructions available on the website of Bureau of Immigration. People with a defence/military/security/police background, serving or retired, or an official/diplomatic passport are not eligible for an e-Visa and are advised to apply for a regular visa through the Indian Visa Online portal.

What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

The Visitor Visa is intended to help visitors whose purpose of travel may not fit within the conventional definition of tourism. Once the new system is live, a consultant who wants to meet clients, see a doctor and take a yoga course on one trip can apply for a Visitor Visa that covers business meetings, medical consultations and short duration yoga programmes. An engineer engaged by an Indian company for installation and commissioning may be granted a Production Investment Business Visa under the B-2 category.

The timing also matters. Until the new system is live, apply under the visa listed on the official Indian Visa Online portal, not the name in the news. Students planning a course in India should register on the Study in India portal now, because the e-S1 is meant for students enrolled in Indian educational institutions through the Study in India portal. Those still comparing countries can weigh it against New Zealand's new limits on work hours for research master's students or the DHS proposal that would make schools pay before students can use OPT.

Lacey Kaelani, Metaintro's CEO, puts it this way: Fewer boxes means fewer wrong answers, but only if you pick the right one. Match the visa to the work you will actually do in India, and keep your papers ready, because a shorter form does not mean a lighter check.

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People Also Asked

Q: How many visa categories does India have now?

A: India now has nine main visa categories and 23 sub-categories, down from 13 and 49, though visas will be issued under the new system only once the ministry finishes its IT update by year-end.

Q: What is the difference between the V-1 and V-2 visa?

A: The V-1 is granted for 30 days with multiple entries for short visits, while the V-2 can be granted with a validity of one, five or 10 years, depending on eligibility and also covers mountaineering.

Q: Who can get the e-S1 student visa?

A: The e-S1 is for foreign students enrolled in Indian educational institutions through the Study in India portal, and it can run for up to five years or the duration of their course, whichever is shorter, with multiple entries.

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