10 August 2026·PIB

Government of India notifies 11 more International Ports, enabling entry of E-Visa holder foreigners into India

In this note

1. At a Glance

MHA has notified 11 additional International Ports (9 land ports + 2 airports) through which E-Visa holder foreigners can enter India, taking the total to 88 ports [1].
Reflects continued liberalization of India's visa regime under PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah [1].
High relevance for Prelims (numbers, port names, ministry) and Mains GS-II/GS-III (visa policy, tourism, connectivity, border management) [1].
India already processes ~95% of e-Visa applications in under 72 hours, signalling a tech-enabled, low-friction visa regime [1].

On 10 August 2026, MHA notified 11 new International Ports (9 land ports, 2 airports) for E-Visa entry, raising the total from 77 to 88 [1].

2014: Electronic Travel Authorization (predecessor of E-Visa) introduced, initially covering 43 countries [1].
Since then, coverage has expanded to 172 countries currently eligible for E-Visa [1].
E-Visa now offered across 17 sub-categories (Tourist, Business, Medical, Student, Transit, etc.) [1].
Roughly 78% of all Indian visas issued today are electronic, indicating a structural shift from paper/mission-based visas to e-Visas [1].
Latest step (Aug 2026): addition of 11 ports, split as 9 land ports and 2 airports [1].

Item	Detail
Notifying authority	Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India [1]
New ports added	11 (9 land ports + 2 airports) [1]
New land ports	Agartala, Darranga, Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon, Dawki, Moreh, Attari (Road) [1]
New airports	Bhopal, Tirupati [1]
Total International Ports for E-Visa (post-notification)	88 [1]
Composition of 88 ports	37 airports, 38 seaports, 13 land ports [1]
E-Visa origin year	2014 (as Electronic Travel Authorization), for 43 countries initially [1]
Countries currently eligible	172 [1]
E-Visa sub-categories	17 (Tourist, Business, Medical, Student, Transit, etc.) [1]
Share of e-Visas processed in <72 hrs	~95% [1]
Share of total visas that are e-Visas	~78% [1]

Economic: More land-port entry points (especially near Northeast/border states — Agartala, Moreh, Dawki, Jaigaon, Darranga, Gede, Ghojadanga) is likely to boost cross-border tourism and trade-linked travel; addition of Bhopal and Tirupati airports widens Tier-2 city access for foreign tourists/pilgrims [1].
Administrative: Expansion requires coordination between MHA, Bureau of Immigration, state border-check-post authorities, and airport operators to ready E-Visa/E-FRRO infrastructure at newly notified ports [1].
Geopolitical/Strategic: Several new land ports lie on India-Bangladesh (Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Darranga, Agartala, Jaigaon) and India-Myanmar (Moreh) and India-Bangladesh/Meghalaya (Dawki) borders and India-Pakistan (Attari Road) — signals deepening connectivity with neighbourhood countries under India's "Neighbourhood First" and Act East frameworks [1].
Governance/Ease of Doing Business: High share (95%) of e-Visas cleared within 72 hours reflects digitization and process simplification as a stated governance priority [1].
Social/Tourism: Tirupati airport addition is significant for religious tourism access; Northeast land ports ease movement for foreign tourists visiting frontier states [1].

10 August 2026: MHA notifies 11 new International Ports (9 land + 2 air) for E-Visa entry; total rises to 88 [1].
Prior public MHA outreach ("E-VISA SYSTEM") on e-Visa expansion process has periodically been placed before Parliament/press [S2 — title reference only, not independently fetched].

Total International Ports now open to E-Visa holders: 88 [1].
Newly notified ports: 11 (9 land ports + 2 airports) [1].
New airports added: Bhopal and Tirupati [1].
New land ports added: Agartala, Darranga, Gede, Ghojadanga, Haridaspur, Jaigaon, Dawki, Moreh, Attari (Road) [1].
Composition of 88 ports: 37 airports, 38 seaports, 13 land ports [1].
Nodal ministry: Ministry of Home Affairs, not Ministry of Tourism [1].
E-Visa (as Electronic Travel Authorization) launched in 2014 for 43 countries [1].
E-Visa currently available to nationals of 172 countries [1].
E-Visa offered in 17 sub-categories [1].
~95% of E-Visa applications processed in under 72 hours [1].
~78% of all Indian visas issued are E-Visas [1].
Announcement date: 10 August 2026 [1].
Attari (Road) is among the newly added land ports (India-Pakistan border) [1].

Neighbourhood First Policy — several new land ports lie on India-Bangladesh/Myanmar borders, linking visa policy to regional diplomacy.
Act East Policy — Moreh (Myanmar border) ties into India's connectivity push eastward.
Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) — infrastructure underpinning land port entry/exit.
e-FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) system — digitisation of foreigner registration, complements E-Visa.
Tourism sector contribution to GDP / Incredible India campaign — economic angle of easier visa access.
Bureau of Immigration, MHA — institutional body implementing visa/immigration checks.
India's border trade agreements with Bangladesh/Myanmar — land ports also serve trade functions.
Digital India initiative — broader digitisation umbrella under which e-Visa system falls.

Confusing nodal ministry: it is MHA, not the Ministry of Tourism or Ministry of External Affairs (MEA handles visa issuance abroad but MHA notifies ports/policy) [1].
Mixing up the split of 11 new ports — remember 9 land + 2 air, not airports-heavy [1].
Confusing the new total (88) with older commonly-cited figures (e.g., 77) — the base number changes with each notification, so always check the latest press release date [1].
Assuming all new ports are airports — most (9 of 11) are actually land ports, largely in border/Northeast states [1].
Conflating "E-Visa" with "Visa-on-arrival" — E-Visa is a pre-arrival electronic authorization, not on-arrival issuance [1].