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

Published 12 Nov 2026, 08:57 IST

What's behind this

India has streamlined its visa regime, cutting the number of main visa categories to nine and sub‑categories to 23, and shortening application forms by roughly two‑thirds. The Ministry of Home Affairs said the changes aim to boost tourist arrivals, medical tourism and foreign student numbers. Reports differ on the original count of categories, but both note the reduction to nine main categories and 23 sub‑categories. The reforms were announced on Wednesday.

AI-generated overview from 2 outlets. It summarises their reporting and adds no reporting of its own.

RSS excerpt

NEW DELHI: India has reduced the number of main visa categories from 13 to nine and sub-categories from 49 to 23, while cutting the number of fields in visa application forms by 65 to 70 per cent, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said. The latest changes are part of the second major exercise to…

Coverage arrived over 11 hours. First from The Tribune, latest from The Pioneer.

Corroborated Coverage 2 news outlets reporting

How this event was covered

First reported by The Tribune at 16:10 UTC on 11 Nov.

Everything here arrived on one day, and nothing since.

Across 1 desk: india.

Compare all reporting outlets (2)

The Tribune The Tribune Trust 11 Nov 2026, 21:40 IST

India reduces visa categories from 13 to 9, cuts fields in application forms by 65-70%: MHA

The government has reduced the number of the main Indian visa categories from 13 to nine and sub-categories from 49 to 23, while cutting the number of fields in visa application forms by 65-70 per cent to simplify the process for foreign nationals, officials said on Wednesday. The changes are aimed…

Compare on Varta → Read at The Tribune ↗
11 hours later
The Pioneer The Pioneer Current article 12 Nov 2026, 08:57 IST

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

NEW DELHI: India has reduced the number of main visa categories from 13 to nine and sub-categories from 49 to 23, while cutting the number of fields in visa application forms by 65 to 70 per cent, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said. The latest changes are part of the second major exercise to…

Read at The Pioneer ↗