India Tourist Visa On Arrival: Fast and Easy

There are three things that surprisingly impressed me about modern India.  First is the tourist visa on arrival facility for passport holders from Asian countries which include the Philippines, Cambodia, Japan, Myanmar, Laos, Singapore and Vietnam. This visa facility is available at the airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.  I arrived in Delhi and as a Philippine passport holder I took advantage of this tourist visa on arrival system.

 It was fast and easy and took no more than 30 minutes and was granted a 30 day single entry tourist visa. I had to accomplish the application form, provide a passport size picture, a copy of first page of my passport and pay the fee of US$60.  Of course, I also had to show proof of my outbound ticket from India and booking for my accommodations in Delhi.  You can also apply for a tourist visa in Manila at a slightly cheaper rate of US$49 but that is a more tedious process with more documentation requirements, and requires you to file the visa application at the processing office in Makati.

Second thing that was impressive is the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.  This airport is  new and modern and is a striking contrast to the chaos and filth that are a common feature of many places in Delhi.

This airport has a fast train shuttle that will bring you to Central Delhi.  This is the third impressive thing in Delhi.  The airport train is new, clean, fast and efficient.  It is in fact surprisingly better than the airport shuttle of Bangkok.

These three things are bright spots for tourism in India.  If only, India was less chaotic, cleaner, and scam free, then a vacation there would truly be magical and great!