11 August 2026·The Hindu

11 new entry points added for e-visa holders: govt.

In this note

1. At a Glance

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has notified 11 new international entry points for foreign nationals holding e-visas — 9 land ports and 2 airports — taking the total to 88 ports [1][2].
Directly relevant to Prelims (static facts on visa categories/ports) and Mains GS-II (governance, e-governance in visa administration) and GS-III (tourism economy).
Reflects India's continuing push to liberalise and digitise its visa regime to boost inbound tourism and cross-border connectivity, including with Bangladesh, Bhutan and via Attari (Pakistan border) and Moreh (Myanmar border).

On 10 August 2026, MHA notified 11 new entry points for e-visa holders, reported in The Hindu (11 August 2026 print edition) [1].
The notification adds airports at Bhopal and Tirupati, and land ports at Agartala, Darranga, Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon, Dawki, Moreh, and Attari (Road) [1][2].

India's e-Visa scheme was launched to simplify visa issuance for foreign tourists/business/medical travellers by allowing online application without visiting a mission [1].
Facility historically expanded incrementally — earlier phases covered 24 airports and 3 seaports (Cochin, Goa, Mangalore), later extended to seaports at Mumbai, Cochin, Mormugao, Chennai, New Mangalore for cruise tourists [2].
Latest expansion (August 2026) is the first major addition of land ports, extending e-visa access to India's land borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and Pakistan [1][2].

Aspect	Detail
Implementing Ministry	Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) [1]
New entry points added (2026)	11 (9 land ports + 2 airports) [1]
New airports	Bhopal, Tirupati [1]
New land ports	Agartala, Darranga, Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon, Dawki, Moreh, Attari (Road) [1]
Total international ports now authorised for e-visa entry	88 [1][2]
Break-up of 88 ports	37 airports, 38 seaports, 13 land ports [2]
Rationale	Facilitate travel, boost attractiveness of e-visa regime [1]
Processing benchmark	~95% of e-visa applications processed in under 72 hours [2]

Economic: Expanded land/air entry points aim to boost tourism-driven forex earnings and ease travel for business/medical visitors, particularly from neighbouring countries via land routes [1].
Geopolitical/Strategic: Inclusion of Attari (Road) (India-Pakistan border) and Moreh (India-Myanmar border) signals normalization of people-to-people movement via strategically sensitive border posts [1][2].
Administrative: Expansion requires coordination between MHA, Bureau of Immigration, and state-level port/airport authorities to operationalise immigration checks at newly notified points [1].
Governance/Ease of doing business: Reflects continued digitisation and simplification of visa administration, part of broader "ease of travel" reforms [2].

20 November 2025: India expanded Visa-on-Arrival for UAE nationals to Cochin, Calicut, and Ahmedabad [3].
10 August 2026: MHA notifies 11 new e-visa entry points (9 land ports + 2 airports), raising total to 88 ports [1][2].

E-visa entry points expanded by 11 in August 2026 — 9 land ports, 2 airports [1].
New airports added: Bhopal and Tirupati [1].
New land ports include Attari (Road) — India-Pakistan border crossing [1].
Moreh — new e-visa land port — lies on the India-Myanmar border [1].
Agartala land port added — connects to Bangladesh, located in Tripura [1].
Dawki land port — Meghalaya, India-Bangladesh border [1].
Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon — land ports on the India-Bangladesh/Bhutan frontier newly added [1].
Total international ports now authorised for e-visa entry: 88 [1][2].
Break-up: 37 airports + 38 seaports + 13 land ports = 88 [2].
Implementing/notifying authority: Union Ministry of Home Affairs (not Ministry of External Affairs, which handles visa policy but MHA notifies port lists) [1].
Approximately 95% of e-visa applications are processed within 72 hours [2].
Earlier phase of e-visa seaport coverage included Mumbai, Cochin, Mormugao, Chennai, New Mangalore [2].

e-Visa scheme categories (tourist, business, medical, conference) — foundational static knowledge underlying this news.
Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) — infrastructure at land border crossings like Attari, Agartala relevant to immigration facilitation.
India-Bangladesh land border agreements — context for Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon, Dawki, Agartala.
India-Myanmar border trade and Moreh — relevant to Act East Policy.
Visa-on-Arrival scheme for UAE nationals — parallel recent liberalisation move [3].
Tourism satellite economy and forex earnings from tourism — GS-III economic linkage.
Bureau of Immigration, MHA — administrative body managing port-level immigration.

Confusing Ministry of Home Affairs (notifies entry ports, immigration) with Ministry of External Affairs (overall visa/consular policy) — MHA is the correct ministry here [1].
Assuming all 88 ports are airports — actual break-up is 37 airports, 38 seaports, 13 land ports [2].
Mixing up this 2026 land-port-heavy expansion with earlier expansions that were airport/seaport-focused (e.g., 2018-2020 phases) [2].
Assuming Attari here refers to the seaport/ICP generally — the notification specifies Attari (Road), a land port.
Treating this as a Bangladesh-only expansion — it also includes Myanmar (Moreh) and Pakistan (Attari) border points.