India has streamlined its visa framework, cutting the number of main visa categories from 13 to 9 and renaming the Tourist Visa as the Visitor Visa, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The changes were implemented internally in August 2026 and publicly announced in November 2026.
The total visa sub-categories were also reduced sharply from 49 to 23, while visa application forms now require 65-70% fewer data fields across all categories. This overhaul aims to simplify the process and improve efficiency for the foreign nationals visiting India.
Revised Visa Categories and Validity Periods
The nine main visa categories under the new framework include: Business,
Diplomatic, Work, Journalist, Medical, Official, Student, Visitor, and Miscellaneous Visas.
The Visitor Visa replaces the earlier Tourist Visa and has two sub-categories. The V-1 Visa accommodates short-term stays up to 30 days with multiple entries for tourism, business meetings, medical consultations, wellness retreats, and short cultural courses. The V-2 Visa covers longer stays with validity options of one, five, or ten years and adds mountaineering visits with a six-month multiple-entry validity.
Medical and Student Visa Reforms
The Medical Visa categories clarify distinctions between conventional and AYUSH treatments. M-1 supports conventional medical treatment excluding AYUSH, and M-3 caters to AYUSH systems; both are generally valid for
one year with multiple entries. Attendants of medical patients receive M-2 and M-4 visas respectively.
The Student Visa category divides into S-1 for school, graduate, and postgraduate education, and S-2 for PhD candidates, research scholars, visiting faculty, internships, and exchange programmes. Students admitted via the Study in India portal can apply for an e-S1 Visa valid for up to five years or the duration of their course, whichever is shorter.
Business Visa Reclassification and E-Visa Expansion
Business Visas are split into B-1 and B-2 sub-categories. B-1 covers long-term business ventures and investments, while B-2 addresses short-term contractual activities, conferences, sports, performing arts, and film-related assignments.
Foreign
technical experts, engineers, and subject specialists working with Indian companies can now receive a Production Investment Business Visa under the B-2 category through the e-Visa platform, covering roles like installation, maintenance, quality checks, IT support, and technology transfer.
Implementation Timeline and E-Visa Availability
The Ministry of Home Affairs is upgrading its IT infrastructure to process visas under the new framework, with issuance of the revised visas anticipated by the end of 2026. The e-Visa facility supports nationals of 172 countries under this updated regime.
Official Rationale and Sectoral Impact
The MHA stated the visa simplification aims to create a more compact, coherent, and responsive visa regime for foreign visitors. Simplifying
overlapping categories is expected to reduce confusion and ease visa selection for travelers.
The revised system intends to benefit international tourists, medical travelers, students, researchers, investors, and business professionals, supporting India’s tourism, education, healthcare, and business sectors. The medical visa framework aligns with the government’s ‘Heal in India’ initiative to promote medical value travel.
