Centre cuts visa categories from 13 to 9, reduces application form fields by up to 70%

The Centre, on Wednesday, announced a rationalisation of India's visa regime, reducing the number of main visa categories from 13 to nine and sub-categories from 49 to 23.

The move aims to boost foreign tourist arrivals, medical value travel and foreign student enrolments.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also reduced the number of fields to be filled in visa application forms by 65-70% across all 23 sub-categories to make the process easier and faster for foreign nationals.


The revised framework seeks to reduce overlap between visa categories and provide clearer options for visitors, patients, students, researchers, investors and business professionals.

Under the changes introduced on August 27, the erstwhile Tourist Visa has been renamed Visitor Visa, while provisions for medical, student and business visas have also been reorganised.

The government said the rationalisation is intended to facilitate legitimate travel, education, healthcare and economic engagement with India through clearer, purpose-based visa options.

The MHA is updating its IT systems to implement the changes, with visas under the revised framework expected to be issued by the end of 2026.