Foreigners will have to pay upto 50% more for Indian visas

In a bid to rationalise and modify the levy charged from foreign nationals visiting India, the government has increased the visa fee by up to 50% across categories.

The hike in the short-term employment visa comes in the wake of countries such as Australia, the US and New Zealand either planning or having already put in place work visa curbs. Though the numbers of foreign nationals working in India are few, the hike is being seen as a tit-for-tat measure.

The government had recently increased the fee in different categories for the US, the UK, Canada, Israel, Iran and UAE nationals.

The fee hike, which is periodic and mostly reciprocal, is sweeping this time as it is being touted as an effort to “rationalise the entry fee charges” and “modify” it in sync with what most countries charge, sources said.

As per a government notification, a tourist visa up to one year will now cost $153 from the earlier $100. The tourist visa for over a year and up to five years will cost $306 instead of $120.

However, there are exceptions. For instance, the UK nationals, who used to cough up $162 for a tourist visa up to a year, will now pay $248 . And for a five year tourist visa, they will pay $741 instead of $484.

Sweeping changes in the visa fee structure for UK nationals is on account of reciprocity, said a source. For the employment visa, nationals from Canada, Ireland, France, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand will now pay $459 instead of $300 for a visa spanning over a year and up to five years.

When it comes to short-term working visa, Israelis continue to cough up the most. They will now pay $ 1, 714 instead of $1,120. The fee for Pakistan nationals across categories has been increased from ₹15 to ₹100. “The labour markets abroad are in a constant flux. Labour exporting countries such as India needs well thought out measures to address these challenges,” says S Irudayarajan, an expert on migration studies.