It's the cold shower that follows the euphoria. While travelers were delighted to finally be able to plan their visa applications four months in advance, A careful analysis of the new official price lists that came into effect on Tuesday, December 23, 2025 reveals a big surprise: India has drastically revised its pricing policy..
Gone are the days when an Indian visa was a cheap formality for everyone. Now, depending on your passport and the type of visa you apply for, the cost can vary from single to five times the original price. If you are applying for a business visa or a long-term tourist visa (5 years), get your credit card ready: the bill is likely to be steep.
The e-Business Visa: pricing based on the traveler's status?
The most striking change concerns the e-Business Visa. Previously seen as a standardized formality, it is now subject to ruthless geographical price segmentation, revealing the legendary complexity of Indian procedures.
By consulting the new official tables, we see that the basic fee for a business visa (valid for one year) is often around USD 80 (68 €) for many “neutral” countries such as Tanzania, Switzerland, and Portugal. But for major economic partners or countries with high incomes, India now applies a massive surcharge.
Here are some striking examples of this disparity for the same e-Business Visa:
- Standard rates :* A German citizen will pay 120 USD (102 €), just like a Spaniard or an Italian.
- Premium rates“ : If you are French, the bill rises to $165 (140 €). For an American citizen, it is 140 USD (119 €).
- The “Explosive” rates” : The record is held by the United Kingdom, whose citizens must pay USD 242 (205 €), and especially by the United Arab Emirates, with an astronomical price of $415 (352 €).
For companies that regularly send employees to India, this new scale means that mobility budgets will have to be reviewed. A business trip by a British consultant now costs three times more in visa fees than that of a German counterpart.
The 5-year tourist visa: The luxury of peace of mind
The other major victim of this tariff revision is the 5-year tourist visa. This visa is the “Holy Grail” for lovers of India: it allows multiple entries over a five-year period, avoiding the need to reapply each year. But this convenience now comes at a very high price for Westerners.
While the 30-day visa remains very affordable (between $10 and $25 depending on the season), The 5-year visa is subject to targeted inflation..
For a French citizen: The cost is set at $200 (170 €). This is a considerable amount when you consider that a one-year visa costs only $40 (34 €). You therefore need to plan to visit India for at least five consecutive years to make this investment profitable.
For a British person: The situation is even more critical. The fee for a 5-year visa has reached the staggering sum of $448 (380 €). At that price, the question of cost-effectiveness compared to annual visas arises seriously.
A logic of diplomatic reciprocity?
Why such discrepancies? India appears to strictly apply the principle of reciprocity. Countries that impose high visa fees or complex procedures on Indian citizens are subject to similar fees in return.
This explains why some countries benefit from completely free access (0 USD) for tourist visas, such as Argentina, Indonesia, and Jamaica. Conversely, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada pay a high price to access the Indian market, whether for tourism or business.
Beware of hidden costs and errors
In addition to these face values, it is important to remember the associated fees. The official portal systematically applies a bank commission of 3% (sometimes indicated at 2.5%, but officially listed at 3% on the December 2025 price lists) in addition to the visa fee. On a British business visa costing $242, this adds nearly $7 to $8.
| It is also crucial to note that these fees are never refundable. With amounts sometimes reaching several hundred dollars, there is no room for error. A typo in the passport number? Is the photo non-compliant (background not white enough, square format not respected)? If your application is rejected for any of these reasons, you lose the entire amount paid. For a $10 visa, it was frustrating but bearable. For a $415 business visa or a $448 five-year visa, it's a disaster financial. Faced with this new fee structure, using a visa agency takes on an economic dimension. Paying an agency service fee to secure an application at $200 or $400 becomes a safeguard against rejection for simple mistakes. |
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