What you need to enter India with a Sierra Leonean passport

Protected and restricted areas: different entry rules

An Indian visa is not enough to enter the areas declared protected or restricted under the Foreigners (Restricted Areas) Order, 1963. The list published by the High Commission of India covers all areas in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, the whole Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and parts of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Every foreigner except a citizen of Bhutan also needs a special permit from the competent authority, applied for through the e-FRRO portal and best requested thirty days ahead. The list has been amended several times, so check it before each trip.

Source: hcikampala.gov.in (Alta Comisión de India, Protected Area Permit / Restricted Area Permit); mha.gov.in, Foreigners (Restricted Areas) Order, 1963 (comprobado 18/09/2026)

Authorisation system

e-Visa + e-Arrival Card (separate procedures)

The e-Visa is the entry procedure. In addition, India requires a separate "e-Arrival Card", completed online within the 72 hours before arrival at boi.gov.in or indianvisaonline.gov.in, or via the official "Indian Visa Su-Swagatam" app. Watch out for third-party websites that imitate the official portal.

Apply on the official site →

Visa, e-Visa, or electronic authorisation? What's the difference →

Fee

25 USD

The fee depends on nationality. For most passports, the 30-day e-Tourist visa costs 25 USD from July to March and 10 USD from April to June; the one-year visa costs 40 USD and the five-year visa 200 USD. There are exceptions: some countries pay nothing (Argentina, Indonesia or Uruguay, among others) and others pay different amounts for some of the options (for example, the five-year visa costs 484 USD on a British passport and 160 USD on a US passport). A 3% bank charge is added to the fee. The official table by country is at indianvisaonline.gov.in.

Processing time

Applications open 120 days before your travel date and close four days before it, which is the minimum the official portal requires. Notices about documents you need to resubmit usually arrive by email within 24 hours.

Required documents

• Passport with at least 6 months' validity on the date of the e-Visa application and two blank pages for immigration stamps.
• Digital photograph meeting the official portal's specifications (square JPEG, full face, no glasses, light background) and a scan of the passport's bio page.
• e-Arrival Card, separate from the e-Visa, within the 72 hours before arrival.

Health insurance

Not mandatory for this destination.

When travel insurance is mandatory → Travel insurance policies ↓

Transit rules

With an e-Visa, entry and exit do not work the same way, and it is worth knowing before booking. To enter you may only use the designated international airports and seaports listed on the official e-Visa portal. To leave, by contrast, you may use any Immigration Check Post in the country. Separately from the visa, you must submit the e-Arrival Card, filled in online within the 72 hours before arrival.