India e-Arrival Card for UK Travellers

7 min read Updated March 2026 Documents

If you booked your India trip more than two years ago, the e-Arrival Card will be new to you. Introduced in 2025 and now firmly in force, India's electronic arrival declaration is a mandatory online form that every foreign traveller - including British citizens with a valid eVisa or sticker visa - must complete before boarding their flight to India. This article walks UK travellers through exactly what it is, what it isn't, and how to make sure it never becomes a problem at the gate.

What is the e-Arrival Card?

The e-Arrival Card is India's digital replacement for the paper disembarkation slip that used to be handed out by cabin crew during the descent into Delhi. It captures the same information - your name, passport details, flight number, address in India and basic health/declaration questions - but does so before you fly, allowing Indian immigration to pre-process arrivals and ease the queues at the immigration desks. Around 14 million arrivals pass through Indian airports each year; the paper system was creaking, and the digital card is genuinely a faster experience on the ground.

Is it the same as my eVisa? No.

This is the single most common confusion among British travellers we hear from. The eVisa is your permission to enter India. The e-Arrival Card is your declaration that you are arriving and on which flight. You need both. Holding a valid eVisa does not exempt you from the e-Arrival Card, and submitting the e-Arrival Card does not substitute for the eVisa. They are two separate forms on two separate systems.

"Think of the eVisa as the key to the house and the e-Arrival Card as letting the host know what time you'll be ringing the doorbell."

Who needs to submit it

Every foreign national arriving in India by air, regardless of visa type, must submit the e-Arrival Card. That includes:

UK passport holders on a Tourist, Business, Medical or Conference eVisa.
British citizens travelling on a regular sticker visa from VFS Global.
OCI cardholders (Overseas Citizens of India) - though they have a simpler version.
Children - yes, a separate card for every traveller, including infants.

The only routine exception is Indian passport holders, who use a different domestic process.

When to submit it from the UK

The e-Arrival Card must be submitted within 72 hours of your scheduled departure to India. Submitting it earlier than this window means it will not be linked to your specific flight; submitting after you board is impossible because the receipt must be presented at check-in. The optimum moment for most British travellers is the day before flying - typically the evening before an overnight UK departure.

A practical UK-based timeline

4 weeks before: Apply for the eVisa.
2 weeks before: eVisa approved, ETA PDF saved.
The day before: Submit the e-Arrival Card after your final London/Manchester accommodation is fixed.
Departure day: Print both PDFs. Carry both with the passport.

Within 72 hours of your flight? Submit your e-Arrival Card now.

Submit e-Arrival Card →

What information you'll need

Compared to the eVisa, the e-Arrival Card is light work. You need:

Your passport number and expiry date.
Your eVisa Application ID or sticker visa number.
Your flight number and date of arrival in India.
The arrival airport (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, etc.).
The complete address of where you'll spend your first night in India.
A simple health declaration (countries visited in the last six days; any symptoms).

The whole submission usually takes between five and ten minutes.

Why India introduced it

Three factors drove the change: passenger volume growth (international arrivals are up 38% since 2019); a desire to align with the systems used by the US (ESTA), Canada (eTA), the EU's coming ETIAS, and the UK's own ETA; and the modernisation of the Bureau of Immigration's data infrastructure. The result is a smoother arrival experience - eVisa holders who have submitted their e-Arrival Card now typically clear immigration at Delhi T3 in 12-20 minutes during off-peak periods.

What happens at UK check-in

BA, Virgin and Air India check-in agents at Heathrow now systematically ask for two documents from each India-bound passenger: the eVisa ETA and the e-Arrival Card receipt. The receipt has a QR code and an application reference; either a printed copy or a screenshot is accepted. Travellers who arrive at the gate without one are politely sent to a "self-service" desk to submit it on the spot - Heathrow's free Wi-Fi makes this possible, but it adds 15 minutes of stress you don't need.

If you genuinely forget: All major Indian airports have e-Arrival Card kiosks in the arrivals area before immigration. You can complete the form there on a tablet. However, the airline may refuse to board you in the UK without it, so don't rely on this fallback - submit before you leave the house.

Common questions from UK travellers

"Does my eVisa application service file the e-Arrival Card automatically?" Not always - confirm with your provider. With our partner you can submit both from one account, but they are technically separate filings.

"What if my flight changes?" Update the e-Arrival Card via the portal using your reference number. Updates within 72 hours of the new flight are free.

"What about the return flight?" The card is only for arrivals into India. Departures from India do not require it.

"Is there a fee?" A small administrative fee may apply depending on the provider; the visa-authority portion itself is currently nominal.

Practical advice for British families

Each traveller, including children, needs their own e-Arrival Card. Most parents we hear from find it easiest to do the entire family in a single sitting on the evening before flying, using the parent's email address as the contact point for all submissions. Take printed copies for everyone - Heathrow gate agents check each passport individually and a single shared screenshot rarely satisfies them.

What the future looks like

From late 2026, the Bureau of Immigration is expected to roll out facial-recognition pre-clearance for arrivals who have submitted both the eVisa and the e-Arrival Card, modelled on the US's Global Entry. UK travellers will be among the first nationalities offered the option, which will further reduce arrival times at Delhi T3, Mumbai T2 and Bengaluru T2.

The e-Arrival Card is one more form, yes, but it is a short and forgiving one. Treat it as the final box on your UK pre-departure checklist - alongside checking your eVisa is "Granted", printing your boarding pass and confirming your hotel pickup - and it will never give you a moment's trouble.