India Visa Rules Simplified: Centre Cuts Categories To Nine, Sub-Categories To 23

India has trimmed its visa structure to nine main categories from 13 and 23 sub-categories from 49. The Ministry of Home Affairs put the latest changes in place on August 27, 2026, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, PIB reported. The Centre said the overhaul is meant to simplify procedures and make the system easier for foreign nationals visiting the country.

This step comes after an earlier overhaul in October 2025, when the number of main visa classes fell from 22 to 13 and sub-categories from 63 to 49. The government said it studied visa systems in developed countries and international standards while carrying out the exercise.

The Centre stated that grouping categories with similar purposes should give applicants more clarity and support legitimate travel to India. At present, e-visas are processed through electronic travel authorisation under 13 sub-categories and are available to nationals of 172 countries.

Visitor and Medical Visas

The old Tourist Visa has been renamed the Visitor Visa. The new category is split into V-1 and V-2 to cover a wider set of activities beyond conventional tourism.

V-1 applies to brief stays. It covers business meetings, medical consultations, wellness retreats, short-duration medical treatment and courses in Indian languages, music, art and craft. The visa will be issued for 30 days and allow multiple entries.

V-2 is meant for longer stays. It will be issued with a validity of one, five or 10 years, depending on the case. It covers all activities allowed under V-1 and also includes mountaineering. For mountaineering, applicants will get a six-month multiple-entry visa.

The medical framework keeps separate tracks for conventional treatment and AYUSH treatment. M-1 covers medical treatment other than AYUSH, while M-3 is for treatment under AYUSH systems.

Both visa tracks, along with their e-Visa versions, will usually carry a one-year validity and allow multiple entries. M-2 applies to attendants of M-1 holders, while M-4 is for those accompanying M-3 holders.

The government stated that this should give patients more flexibility for multiple consultations, follow-up visits and staged treatment, while also easing travel for attendants. It added that the move aims to promote medical value tourism in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Heal in India’.

Student and Business

The student category has been reduced to two sub-categories. S-1 covers school, graduate and postgraduate education.

S-2 covers a broader academic set. It is meant for PhD scholars, research students, visiting faculty, scientific and anthropological expeditions, internships and exchange programmes, among other specified academic activities.

Foreign students admitted through the Study in India portal may get an e-S1 Visa for up to five years or for the duration of their course, whichever is shorter. The visa will allow multiple entries.

Business visas have also been recast into B-1 and B-2. B-1 is for long-term, licence-based business activity, including setting up industrial or business ventures in India.

B-2 applies to short-term contract work. It includes production investment business, conferences, sports, performing arts and film-related assignments. The category also has a separate provision for foreign subject-matter experts, engineers and technical personnel hired by Indian companies.

Their assignments can cover installation and commissioning, quality checks, maintenance, production, IT and enterprise resource planning (ERP) operations, training, supply-chain development, plant design, senior management and technical support, including transfer of technology and expertise. These personnel may secure a Production Investment Business Visa through the e-Visa platform. The same facility was earlier available under the e-B4 visa category.

The government stated that separating long-term investment activity from short-term contractual work would give businesses more clarity and help deploy foreign technical expertise for industrial projects.

Forms and Categories

The MHA has also started a wider overhaul of visa application forms across all 23 categories and sub-categories. It has cut the number of fields and columns applicants must fill by 65 to 70 per cent.

The ministry stated that the change should cut the amount of information applicants need to submit while keeping the details required for processing. It added that the move should reduce the time and effort needed to complete forms and improve administrative efficiency.

The IT rollout is still under way. The ministry is updating its systems to apply the revised framework and expects visas under the new system to be issued by the end of 2026.

The new structure groups visas under nine main heads: Business, Diplomatic, Work, Journalist, Medical, Official, Student, Visitor and Miscellaneous. Miscellaneous includes persons of Indian origin and their spouses and children, dependents of foreign nationals on specified long-term visas, people joining institutions such as the Auroville Foundation, Afghan nationals seeking stay visas and some nationals from neighbouring countries who qualify for long-term visas, apart from other uses not covered elsewhere.

The government said the new framework will make the visa system simpler and more focused on purpose. It will still support travel for tourism, education, healthcare, investment and business, subject to eligibility rules and conditions.