India's e-Arrival Card and Air Suvidha: What to File Before a Flight to India

The two forms at a glance

They are not two names for the same thing. Both are filed online before arrival, and that similarity invites confusion between them.

e-Arrival Card. Run by the Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs. It is the digitized disembarkation card, recording who you are and where you are going. The Bureau's notice addresses it to foreigners and OCI card holders.

Air Suvidha 2.0 Self-Declaration Form. The portal is presented under the names of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It is a health-surveillance declaration covering itinerary, travel history and, where triggered, health information. The portal's instructions page addresses it to all international passengers arriving in India; two items in the scrolling notice on the same portal use narrower wording, covered below.

Neither is a visa. The e-Arrival page states, in its own words, that it is for arrival information, not a visa. The Air Suvidha FAQ states that submission does not replace immigration, visa, or customs requirements, and that it does not guarantee entry into India.

Different travel histories. The e-Arrival Card asks which countries you visited in the last 6 days. Air Suvidha asks whether you visited or transited specific Ebola-affected countries in the last 21 days.

Cost. Both portals describe their form as free of cost.

The government puts the two side by side in one advisory paragraph on indianvisaonline.gov.in, the authorized visa portal, which reads: 'Foreign Nationals and OCI/eOCI cardholders must complete and submit the eArrival Card... All Passengers must also fill the Self-Declaration Form... before reaching the Arrival Immigration Counters'. (The portal uses the term 'eOCI' in that sentence; on the same page it describes 'OCI card / eOCI' only as 'issued to various categories of Persons of Indian Origin'. Outside direct quotations this guide uses the established term, OCI cardholders.)

The pages to check before you fly

The requirements and the official wording around them have changed during the past 12 months, and a public health measure can be widened, narrowed or withdrawn at short notice. Treat the pages below as the authority and this guide as the orientation.

1. Bureau of Immigration (boi.gov.in): the What's New notice carries the current e-Arrival Card position.

2. Indian Visa Online (indianvisaonline.gov.in): the advisory block on the front page, which covers both forms and the fee warning.

3. Air Suvidha 2.0 (airsuvidha.civilaviation.gov.in): the portal's scrolling notice, its instructions page and its FAQ carry the current health requirement.

4. Your airline. The Air Suvidha portal advises passengers to check the latest guidelines from the state APHOs (the portal's privacy policy expands the term as 'Airport Health Organisations') or the airlines concerned before starting their journey, and the U.S. Mission in India's notice of 14 October 2025 on the arrival form advises travelers to confirm entry requirements with their airline at the time of ticket purchase. This guide's advice: treat the Indian government portal as the primary source, because airline guidance can lag behind it.

Where the wording is unclear, follow the latest instructions on the relevant government portal and confirm the requirement with your airline. Do not submit information under a nationality, passport or immigration category that does not apply to you merely as a precaution. Complete every form that applies to your journey, and keep the acknowledgments.

The e-Arrival Card: who files it

What the Bureau of Immigration says. The notice, shown in the What's New list on its front page on 10 October 2026 and dated 24 September 2025 on its What's New page, reads: 'Foreigners and OCI Card holders can complete and submit the e-Arrival card online within 72 hours before their arrival in India at boi.gov.in or indianvisaonline.gov.in or via official 'Indian Visa Su-Swagatam' Mobile App. This is for arrival information, not a visa.'

Where to file it. The notice names three places: the Bureau of Immigration website, the Indian Visa Online portal, and the official Su-Swagatam mobile app. When to file it. The Bureau says 'within 72 hours before their arrival in India'. The U.S. Mission's notice of 14 October 2025 said 'up to 72 hours prior to travel' (its message of 8 April 2026 uses the Bureau's 'within 72 hours before their arrival'), and one Indian mission notice (Pretoria) says 'at least 72 hours prior to their travel', which is the opposite. Follow the Bureau's wording: file inside the 72 hours before you land.

Who it is aimed at. Foreign nationals and OCI cardholders. An OCI cardholder is a foreign national registered as an Overseas Citizen of India. OCI is what the OCI portal calls a 'multiple entry lifelong visa', subject to the conditions the Government of India sets for OCI cardholders (the Bureau of Immigration's page, read on 8 October 2026, says 'OCI is only a life-long visa'); the exception is a spouse-basis card issued on or after 3 September 2025, which the Bureau says carries an initial validity of 5 years 'further extendable to lifelong subject to scrutiny'. Our OCI Card FAQ covers the rest of the rules.

Indian passport holders. The Bureau's notice addresses foreigners and OCI cardholders. It does not direct Indian citizens traveling on Indian passports to submit the e-Arrival Card, and India was not available as a nationality on the form we reviewed.

It does not replace anything. OCI travelers still need the passport they are traveling on and a valid OCI card or e-OCI, under the OCI rules in force. The e-Arrival Card is an additional declaration, not a substitute for any travel document.

A new card for each arrival. The card records information for a particular arrival: a date of arrival, an address for that stay, and the countries visited in the days before it. The Bureau's pages do not say whether a card can be reused. Because the form records a date of arrival, an address for that stay and the countries visited in the 6 days before it, travelers should expect to submit a new card for each arrival unless the Bureau expressly provides otherwise.

Is the e-Arrival Card mandatory? What each source says

The official sources do not use the same wording, so each is given below in its own words rather than in summary.

1. Bureau of Immigration, notice dated 24 September 2025: travelers 'can complete and submit' the card. Permissive wording.

2. Indian Visa Online, the authorized visa portal, front-page advisory: 'Foreign Nationals and OCI/eOCI cardholders must complete and submit the eArrival Card'. Mandatory wording, and it names OCI cardholders.

3. Consulate General of India, San Francisco, public advisory dated 1 October 2025, titled 'Digitization of Disembarkation Card for Foreign Nationals Visiting India', whose notice opens 'Notice: Mandatory E-Arrival Card Submission for International Travelers Entering India' and continues: 'Effective 1 October 2025, all foreign nationals, including OCI cardholders, are required to complete the Electronic Arrival Card (E-Arrival Card) prior to entry into India.'

4. The rollout notices. Indian missions published notices from early October 2025 (four of the seven read carry no date on their face) that differ in wording. The Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, the Embassy in Paris and the Consulate in São Paulo said foreign nationals would have the option of filing digitally (Geneva addressed only visitors 'for tourism, study or business'); Thimphu, Manila and Pretoria said foreign nationals were required to file from 1 October 2025 (Pretoria's notice also says foreigners 'will have the option'); Vilnius said the card can now be filed online. Only São Paulo and Manila named OCI cardholders. On the paper card, Geneva said physical filling would continue until the digital system stabilized or for a maximum of 6 months, whichever came first; Paris said up to six months or until the digital system fully stabilizes; Thimphu, São Paulo and Vilnius said up to 6 months or until further notice; Manila and Pretoria did not mention the paper card.

5. U.S. Mission India, notice dated 14 October 2025: travelers 'will have the option' of the electronic form, and 'The paper form will continue to be accepted for the next six months.'

6. U.S. Mission India, message dated 6 July 2026, describes the health form as separate from 'the electronic arrival form required upon entry into India'. This is a US government source describing its understanding of India's requirement 9 months later; it corroborates the Indian portal wording but is not the source of the rule.

What could not be found. No Indian government notice announcing what happened at the end of that 6-month transition was located. The U.S. Mission India's message of 8 April 2026 said the paper form 'will soon no longer be an option', without giving a date. This guide cannot give the date on which the paper card stopped being accepted, or say whether it has, and it does not guess. Unofficial travel sites are not official sources; rely on the government pages listed above. An undated notice still on the website of the Embassy of India in The Hague on 10 October 2026 says 'Indian passport holders and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders are exempt from this requirement'. That conflicts with the Indian Visa Online advisory and the San Francisco consulate, both of which name OCI cardholders as required to file.

The practical course. The strongest and most specific Indian government wording, on the authorized visa portal and from the Consulate General of India in San Francisco, says foreign nationals and OCI cardholders are required to file. The card is free and the online form is short. Given that wording, complete it before each arrival unless a later official instruction expressly withdraws or changes the requirement, keep the confirmation, and check the Bureau's page again before the next trip.

What the e-Arrival Card asks

The form is one page with two parts. These fields were read directly off the live form on 10 October 2026; a later version may differ.

Part one, shown first (beside or above the main form depending on your screen), an optional shortcut. A panel labeled 'Quick Fill From Existing Data' asks for a passport number, nationality and a captcha. The portal does not explain on the page what it retrieves or how long data is held, so treat it as a convenience and complete the fields yourself if anything looks wrong.

Part two, the main form: personal details. Full name as in the passport, nationality or region, passport number, and purpose of travel from a fixed list: Tourist, Business, Medical, AYUSH, Conference, Research, Study, Employment, Official/Diplomatic, Other.

Arrival details. Date of arrival, and countries visited in the last 6 days. There is a 'No Country Visited' checkbox alongside the country selector. Follow the instruction shown on the form, and do not leave a country out unless the form's own wording permits it.

Address and contact. Address in India with state and district, email ID, contact number, and an emergency contact number (shown without the asterisk that marks required fields, but on 10 October 2026 the form's code treated it as required, so have one ready).

Families. An 'Add Member' button on the same submission. The page does not describe how acknowledgments are issued for added members, so save whatever confirmation you are given.

The declaration, in full: 'I declare that the information provided above is true and accurate. I understand that providing false information may result in denial of entry or legal consequences.'

Uploads. On the version reviewed on 10 October 2026, the form displayed no file-upload field (no passport scan, photograph or ticket) and did not ask for a flight number, only a date of arrival. Whatever changes about your booking, make sure the information you submitted is still accurate.

Save the confirmation before closing the browser rather than expecting to find it again from an airport queue.

Air Suvidha: the second form, and why it exists

This section sets out what could be established about the authority behind the form, and what could not.

The health background. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare published a 'Travel Advisory in context of Ebola Disease Public Health Emergency of International Concern' dated 23 May 2026, naming the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, advising Indian citizens to avoid non-essential travel to those three countries, and quoting the World Health Organization's recommendation to strengthen disease surveillance at points of entry. That advisory does not itself mention the Self-Declaration Form or the Air Suvidha portal, and no reference number is printed on it.

The portal. Air Suvidha 2.0 at airsuvidha.civilaviation.gov.in is headed 'Government of India | Ministry of Health & Family Welfare / Ministry of Civil Aviation', and the Bureau of Immigration's own visa portal links to it. Its FAQ states that under a travel advisory issued in June 2026 by the Directorate General of Health Services, all air travelers arriving in India are required to file the Self-Declaration Form in view of the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

The limit of verification. That June 2026 advisory could not be located as a separately published document, so its date, reference number and complete terms cannot be independently verified. The Government of India's press release of 25 June 2026 announcing Air Suvidha 2.0 states that the portal was developed with the Directorate General of Health Services and that international arriving passengers are to submit a mandatory online health self-declaration; it does not mention the June 2026 advisory or give its number or date. The portal does not make clear whether it is a separate implementation direction or an updated version of the 23 May advisory. The filing instructions in this guide reflect the live government portal as displayed on 10 October 2026.

What the portal itself says its basis is. Its instructions page reads: 'All international passengers arriving in India are required to submit a health self-declaration under the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 and the directions of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.' Its scrolling notice adds that the declaration is mandatory under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Guidance issued by the U.S. Mission in India. In a message to US citizens dated 6 July 2026: 'All international passengers arriving in India are required to submit a mandatory online health self-declaration form covering travel history over the preceding three weeks, including any visits to Ebola-affected countries.' This corroborates the portal's instructions but is not the legal source of India's requirement.

Where the portal contradicts itself. The Air Suvidha instructions page and FAQ use language covering all international arrivals, as does the U.S. Mission message. Two items in the scrolling notice on the same portal use narrower language: 'Passengers arriving from Ebola-affected countries must complete this form before travel. — MoHFW Advisory' and 'mandatory for all international arriving passengers from affected countries', while the banner above the form says it is to be 'Mandatorily Filled By All International Arriving Passengers to India'. This guide cannot say which wording controls at the counter. Check the live portal and your airline's instructions before departure.

Who Air Suvidha applies to

These answers are quoted or closely paraphrased from the portal's official FAQ, read on 10 October 2026.

Arriving passengers. 'All international travellers (Indian and Foreign nationals) and airline crew arriving in India should fill the self-declaration form (SDF).' A separate answer says they must submit it for getting the immigration clearance.

Departing passengers. 'Departing passengers from India are not required to fill the application form.'

OCI cardholders. The FAQ answers the question 'I hold an OCI Card. Do I need Air Suvidha?' with one word: 'Yes.'

How OCI holders fill the identity section. The FAQ says to select the Foreigner tab, enter the nationality of the passport you travel on, and choose the 'OCI Card Holder Visa' option under visa type. On the version reviewed on 8 October 2026, the first screen showed a nationality list that includes India and no 'Foreigner' tab; the visa-type field, where the portal's instructions say to select 'OCI Card Holder Visa', appears in Step 2 (Address & Contact). Enter the nationality of the passport you are traveling on.

Children and infants. The FAQ states that an infant requires Air Suvidha and that children may use a parent's email address.

Repeat travelers. Asked whether a passenger who filed one last visit needs another, the FAQ answers yes, and restates that all international arriving passengers are to file.

Transit. The FAQ says that if you are required to undergo immigration clearance in India you should complete the form, following the latest Government of India travel advisory. It does not resolve every airside-only case, so check with your airline if you are changing aircraft in India without clearing immigration.

What Air Suvidha asks

Depending on the answers entered, the portal runs through up to four stages: personal and flight details, contact and address, a health declaration, and verification and submission. Have your ticket open. These fields were read off the live form on 10 October 2026.

The health-declaration stage is conditional. The instructions page states that it 'is displayed only if you declared exposure to Ebola-affected countries in Step 1'. The FAQ, however, tells passengers with no exposure or symptoms to select 'No' and 'None', so answer any health questions the portal does display.

Personal and travel details. Individual or family; full name, gender, age, nationality and passport number; whether you are flying direct to India or via a foreign transit; your first country of boarding, the date you left it, and the airport of first boarding.

Health surveillance. Whether you visited or transited the Ebola-affected countries listed on the form in the last 21 days (on the version reviewed, DR Congo, Uganda and South Sudan), with a None option. The FAQ is explicit that a transit through one of those countries must be declared even if you never left the terminal.

Arrival details. The first international airport of arrival in India, chosen from a list on the form; the airline, the flight number arriving in India, an optional seat number, and the arrival date and time in Indian Standard Time. The FAQ says to select the airport where you first land and complete immigration, even if your final destination is another Indian city.

Onward travel. None, domestic, other by road or train, or international transit.

Places to visit. Every state and district you plan to visit, with dates, added as separate rows.

Contact and OTP. Email address and mobile number. The form notes that for an Indian mobile number the one-time password goes to both the number and the email, while for other countries only the email OTP is sent, so use an email you can open while traveling. The FAQ says a foreign traveler may use an international mobile number and may add an alternate contact number in India.

Finishing the submission. The FAQ page carries the portal's own list of common mistakes, and one of them is assuming the submission is complete once the OTP is verified. Its wording is that after OTP verification the mandatory fields in the health declaration and consent sections must still be filled in before the entry can be submitted. Complete every declaration or consent field the portal displays for your application, and continue until it issues a final acknowledgment. Others on that list: entering your nationality instead of the country where the journey began; not declaring a foreign transit because you stayed in the terminal; selecting your final Indian city instead of the airport where you first clear immigration; mixing up the two flight numbers; giving someone else's contact details; and not downloading the acknowledgment.

Air Suvidha: timing, proof and corrections

Timing, where the official sources differ. The form's wording is 'Passenger can fill the application up to 72 hrs before arriving in India', and FAQ 07 says the same of the SDF, adding that it should preferably be filled along with web check-in. The Government of India's press release announcing the portal (25 June 2026) says the form 'can be completed 24 hours in advance before arrival to India', headlines that, in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's copy of the release (PIB 2277648), as 'up to 24 Hours Before Arrival', and asks passengers to fill it before boarding, during web check-in. Read with FAQ 08 ('if permitted by the portal, it may be completed up to the prescribed time before arrival in India'), the portal appears to permit submission during the 72 hours preceding arrival; the launch release's headline construes its own 24 hours the same way ('up to 24 Hours Before Arrival'). The U.S. Mission India message of 6 July 2026 instead says the form should be completed within 24 hours of the start of passenger travel to India.

How to read the three statements together. The portal's 72-hour window and the launch release's 24-hour window are both counted back from arrival; the U.S. Mission counts 24 hours from the start of travel. On a direct or single-stop US-India itinerary, a form submitted in the 24 hours before you begin the journey falls inside the portal's 72-hour window and satisfies the U.S. Mission's wording, but it falls outside the launch release's 'up to 24 hours before arrival' whenever more than 24 hours pass between submission and landing, which is always the case on a journey longer than 24 hours and can happen on shorter ones. The release does not say what happens to an earlier submission, and the portal, which is the system that accepts the form, displays only the 72-hour wording. Follow the window the live portal shows, file when you do your web check-in and before leaving home, keep the acknowledgment, and amend it through the portal if your flight changes. Travelers on unusually long or complex itineraries should follow the live portal and their airline's instructions. If the form applies to your journey, complete it before leaving home rather than waiting until the airport.

What you get. The instructions page says you receive a registration number and an acknowledgment, with a confirmation email to your registered address.

Where to show it, also stated differently in different places. The instructions page says to carry the registration or acknowledgment slip for presentation at the health desk on arrival, digital or printed. The FAQ says to present it at the immigration desk at the first international airport of entry. The U.S. Mission message says the emailed acknowledgment must be presented to immigration officials. The portal's scrolling notice says to present the registration number at the APHO / Health Desk, and the Government of India's launch release says the health desk or immigration counter. As a practical precaution, keep both a digital and a printed copy and present it to whichever health or immigration official asks for it.

Screening. The instructions page notes that based on your declared information an Airport Port Health Officer may conduct a health screening.

Corrections. Both the instructions page and the FAQ say the declaration can be amended up to your arrival date and time; the FAQ adds that you log in with a one-time password sent to your registered email. After that, the instructions page says corrections go through the health desk officer at the airport.

Flight changes. The FAQ treats a changed flight number as an edit to the existing form, and says a new form should be submitted if the travel itinerary changes significantly. If you cannot edit the form within the editing period, the FAQ says to tell the airline or the APHO Health Desk on arrival.

Helpline. The instructions page lists the telephone number 1075 for difficulty completing the form, and says of that number: 'The helpline is available during airport operating hours.' The portal header also gives an email address, idsp-alert@nic.in; the portal does not say which office it belongs to, though its privacy text names the IDSP (the 'Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme'). Check the portal for current contact details.

Families, children and older parents

Both forms handle groups, and they do it differently. These are the portals' own rules, not our interpretation.

e-Arrival Card. One submission can carry additional travelers through the 'Add Member' button on the form.

Air Suvidha, group size. The FAQ says up to four family members can be added in a single submission, but only where they share the same contact details and itinerary. Passengers with different contact details or a different itinerary make separate submissions.

Air Suvidha, what each person gets. The FAQ is specific that each co-passenger has an individual Self-Declaration Form, which has to be downloaded and presented separately. One submission does not mean one document.

Infants and adults without an email or phone. The FAQ says you may use your own contact details for accompanying infants or adults, and that the same email may be used for several passengers, each of whom still has their own form.

Different surnames. Enter each passenger's name as it is printed in that passenger's own passport, without alteration.

Parents traveling alone. The FAQ says a son or daughter may complete the form on a traveler's behalf provided every detail entered is accurate, and advises using an email address the traveler can access during the journey, because that is where the code for any later correction goes.

Travel agents. The FAQ says not to give a travel agent's phone number and email as the contact details; use your own, and add a local contact in India as the alternate number if you want one.

Both forms are free: the warning about agents and lookalike sites

The e-Arrival Card page carries the price in its own header: 'It is free of cost service of Indian Immigration.'

The Air Suvidha portal runs a standing notice reading 'Airsuvidha form fill is absolutely free of cost. Beware of fake websites charging money to fill the forms.' Its FAQ repeats that the service is free and warns against fake websites, and separately tells you not to use a travel agent's contact details.

The Government of India advisory on indianvisaonline.gov.in goes further: it 'does not authorize any agent or intermediaries to charge fees for emergency, express visa, eVisas and eArrival card'. That is the government stating in advance that it has authorized no agent or intermediary to charge you fees for these.

How to be sure you are in the right place. Start from the Bureau of Immigration or Indian Visa Online website, or the official Su-Swagatam app, for the e-Arrival Card, and from airsuvidha.civilaviation.gov.in for the health declaration. Before you type a passport number, check that the web address you have landed on is a Government of India address.

Beyond the fee. A lookalike site that charges for a free form may also collect your passport number, travel dates and address in India.

Share this section with relatives before they travel, including those who would not read a guide like this one.

What no official source answers

A gap is left open here rather than filled with a guess. As of 10 October 2026, these questions have no answer on any government page that could be found.

What happens if you arrive without an e-Arrival Card. No published consequence, and no penalty schedule. The Air Suvidha side comes closer: its FAQ says the form is needed for immigration clearance, and that false or misleading information may draw action under Indian law and delay clearance. Neither portal describes the result of not having filed at all. The Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025 (G.S.R. 596(E), 1 September 2025; rule 11(1)) do not mention an arrival card, but they let the Immigration Officer require a foreigner's address in India, purpose of visit, length of stay 'or any other relevant information' at the immigration post.

How children's e-Arrival confirmations work. The Bureau's notice covers foreigners and does not mention children. What the reviewed guidance does not explain is whether every child needs a separate acknowledgment or is covered as an added family member, and how confirmations for added members are issued.

Whether an airside-only transit passenger needs an e-Arrival Card. Air Suvidha's guidance turns on whether you clear Indian immigration. The e-Arrival guidance says nothing about passengers who never reach an immigration counter.

How to correct an e-Arrival Card after your arrival date changes. Air Suvidha has an explicit amendment route. The e-Arrival portal publishes no correction procedure. If your arrival date changes, seek instructions from the Bureau of Immigration's support contact listed on boi.gov.in. If no correction route is offered, a fresh submission for the correct date may be the most practical precaution, but that is this guide's suggestion, not published guidance.

When, or whether, the paper disembarkation card stopped being accepted. Addressed above; no notice found.

Treat secondary sources that claim certainty on these unanswered questions with caution unless they cite a later official instruction.

A routine before every India trip

Six steps, done once, at a table, with the passports and the ticket in front of you.

1. Check the official pages listed earlier, plus your airline's entry-requirements page. It is the step that keeps the other five correct.

2. Work out who in your party files what. Foreign nationals and OCI cardholders follow the current e-Arrival Card instruction. For Air Suvidha, the portal's instructions and FAQ currently direct all international arrivals to file; check the live notice and your airline's instructions, because one notice on the portal describes the covered group more narrowly.

3. Fill the Air Suvidha form inside the window the portal shows (on 10 October 2026, up to 72 hours before arriving in India), ideally when you do your web check-in. It needs the flight number, the first Indian airport where you clear immigration, and the arrival time in Indian Standard Time. If the seat number has not been allotted yet, the form marks it optional, so do not delay the submission for it.

4. Fill the e-Arrival Card within the 72 hours before you land. It needs the arrival date, the purpose of travel and your address in India, and offers a 'Quick Fill From Existing Data' panel; the page does not say what data it uses.

5. Download every acknowledgment, one per traveler where the portal issues them that way, and put them in the same phone folder as the passport and OCI card scans so they work offline. Print copies for anyone traveling alone or without a smartphone.

6. If anything about the booking changes, go back and check that what you submitted is still true. Amend the health declaration through the portal. For the e-Arrival Card, see the correction note in the previous section.

A habit to keep. Re-read the Bureau of Immigration notice and the Air Suvidha portal before each trip rather than trusting what you learned last year. Our OCI Card FAQ covers the document side of the same journey, and the two guides belong together: that one covers what you carry to India, this one what you may need to file before you fly.