India has launched two specialized visas for foreign students pursuing higher education in the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs has confirmed.
The two new visas called the ‘e-student visa’ and ‘e-student-x visa,’ are now available for those using India’s government portal, SII, VisaGuide.World reports.
The Study in India (SII) program, implemented by the Ministry of Education, gives foreign students access to more than 160 Indian institutions that offer over 2,600 courses across multiple disciplines. Through the SII, applicants can also get the opportunity to benefit from financial support through scholarships or fee waivers.
Therefore, foreign students registered on the SII portal can apply for an e-student visa. In addition, dependents of e-student visa holders can secure an e-student-x visa.
The founder and director of the Career Mosaic agency, Abhijit Zaveri, told The Pie that students from countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and other African nations would benefit significantly from the introduction of special category visas.
The recent allowance for international universities to set up campuses in GIFT City further strengthens India’s position as a global education hub, offering students access to world-class education locally.
The initiative aims to simplify and streamline the admission process by requiring all visa applications to be processed through the SII portal.
E-Visa Valid For Up to 5 Years
The e-student visa is available for foreign nationals engaged in full-time undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral, or other academic programs at Indian institutions.
The e-visa is valid for up to five years, depending on the length of the course, and can be further extended.
Supriya Mathew, vice president of international affairs at Dayanand Sagar University, told the Pie that this new visa category will reduce the paperwork.
This will increase our university’s accessibility and appeal to students from a variety of geographic areas, especially those where visa requirements are currently an obstacle.
Each year, India welcomes a large number of foreign students interested in pursuing their studies in India, while a lot of Indians also choose to travel to other countries. Those obtaining a valid visa can enter India through any entry checkpoint.
Based on the AISHE 2021/22 report, a total of 46,878 students from about 170 countries are currently pursuing their studies in Indian educational institutions.
Among them, the largest representation of students from other countries is nationals of the following countries: Nepal (13,126), Afghanistan (3,151), the United States (2,893), Bangladesh (2,606), as well as the United Arab Emirates (2,287).