Albanian passport holders can apply for the Indian eVisa entirely online — no consular appointment, no courier, no passport handed over. Approval typically arrives by email in 24 to 72 hours.
90 days
Maximum stay per visit
24–72 hrs
Typical processing time
Up to 5 years
Longest validity offered
Not eligible
Visa on Arrival
100% online
No embassy visit
Overview
Albanian outbound travel has grown quickly, and India has become a genuine destination rather than a curiosity — mostly independent leisure trips through Rajasthan, Kerala and Goa, with a growing interest in yoga and Ayurveda. Tirana connects to India almost entirely through Istanbul, which is both the shortest and usually the cheapest routing.
Every Albanian citizen needs a visa granted before departure. There is no visa-free entry and no visa on arrival. The eVisa is an electronic authorisation issued by the Government of India, linked to your passport number, with no stamp and no appointment.
Albanian passport holders receive up to 90 days per visit on the tourist eVisa, and the five-year multiple-entry version is available. One thing worth knowing up front: Albania is outside the EU and Schengen area, so any European connection needs its own transit check — and that is more often the obstacle than the Indian visa.
At a glance
Eligibility
Yes. India extends visa-free entry only to Nepal and Bhutan, and Visa on Arrival only to Japanese, South Korean and Emirati nationals. Albanian citizens must hold an approved visa before boarding, and because every routing involves a connection, the check often happens at Tirana.
Choose the category by purpose. Tourism, sightseeing, visiting friends and wellness travel fall under the tourist eVisa. Meetings, trade fairs and supplier visits require the business eVisa. Hospital treatment requires the medical eVisa. Employment, journalism, academic research and long-term study are outside the eVisa scheme and need a regular visa from an Indian mission.
Because Albania is outside Schengen, a routing through Vienna, Frankfurt or Rome may require a Schengen transit visa depending on the specifics. Istanbul and the Gulf hubs usually avoid the question entirely, which is one reason they dominate this route.
Stay & validity
Albanian citizens are permitted up to 90 days per visit on the tourist eVisa. The 30-day version allows double entry, with its 30 days counted from your arrival date. The one-year and five-year versions are multiple-entry, and their validity begins on the date the Indian government grants the application.
Applying too early wastes validity — booking in March for a November trip and applying immediately spends eight months of a one-year eVisa. Apply two to three weeks before departure.
The eVisa cannot be extended or converted from inside India, so 90 days is a hard per-visit ceiling, and it is valid only at designated airports and authorised seaports.
The business eVisa allows up to 180 days per visit within a one-year multiple-entry window. The medical eVisa gives 60 days from first entry with triple entry.
Pricing
Live government fees and service charges for Albanian passport holders, shown all-in — nothing further is charged later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as Albania
Requirements
Everything Albanian passport holders need before starting an application. The first five items apply to every applicant; the rest are specific to your nationality or visa type.
Passport bio-data page — a clear colour scan or photo showing your photograph, full name, date of birth, passport number and expiry date
Recent passport-style photograph — square format, plain white background, full face visible, no shadows and no headwear other than for religious reasons
A valid credit or debit card to pay the government fee and service charge
Your return or onward ticket details, or at minimum your intended departure date
The address where you will be staying for your first night in India
Simple process
Four steps, entirely online, with our team checking every field before anything reaches the Indian authorities.
Enter your passport details exactly as printed, choose your visa type and duration, and upload your photo and passport data page.
Our team checks your photo dimensions, passport scan clarity, name spelling and date formats before anything is submitted.
Your application goes to the Government of India on your behalf, and we keep you posted at every status change.
Print it or keep it on your phone, and we explain exactly how to present it at your port of entry in India.
Standard processing takes 48 to 72 hours and express handling 24 to 48 hours. Both are business-day estimates, and Indian public holidays — numerous and often state-specific — extend them.
Apply at least ten days before departure. But note the Indian eVisa is rarely the critical path here: if your routing needs a Schengen transit visa, start that far earlier, since it takes considerably longer than the Indian visa.
Separate from your eVisa, every foreign national entering India must complete the digital e-Arrival Card before boarding. It replaces the old paper disembarkation form and is required on every single visit, whatever visa you hold.
Getting there
There is no nonstop service between Albania and India, and Istanbul dominates the routing — it is the shortest option and avoids Schengen transit questions. Total journey times run 10 to 16 hours. Your eVisa is checked at your Indian arrival airport rather than in transit.
Best time to go
October to March is India's dry season and the best window for the classic circuits. The Christmas and New Year weeks are the fare peak; February and March offer the same weather at better prices.
The Albanian summer holidays fall in the monsoon — poor for Rajasthan and the Golden Triangle, but the best months of the year for Ladakh and the Spiti Valley, and the traditional Ayurveda season in Kerala.
Avoid the northern plains in May and June, when temperatures exceed 45°C. India is 3.5 to 4.5 hours ahead of Albanian time depending on the season, so the shift is mild.
Avoid these
Refusals are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the problems that come up most often on applications from Albania — we check for every one of them before submitting.
The most consequential error on this route. Albania is outside the EU and Schengen area, so a connection through Vienna, Rome or Frankfurt may require a Schengen transit visa depending on the routing. Your India eVisa governs entry to India and nothing else, and a Schengen visa takes far longer to obtain. Istanbul and the Gulf hubs usually avoid the issue entirely.
Your passport's machine-readable zone renders ë as E and ç as C — so Këllezi becomes KELLEZI and Çela becomes CELA. Match the printed name line and keep your airline booking consistent with it.
Albanian citizens receive 90 days per visit, not the 180 days granted to American, British, Canadian and Japanese nationals. The eVisa cannot be extended from inside India.
The eVisa is valid only at designated airports and authorised seaports. Any overland entry needs a regular visa from an Indian mission, arranged before you leave.
On one-year and five-year visas, validity runs from the grant date rather than arrival. Booking far ahead and applying the same week throws away most of the visa.
Photo rejected on technical grounds
By far the most common cause of delay. The photograph must be square, on a plain white background, with your full face visible and no shadow behind your head. Cropped selfies and phone photos taken against a cream wall are routinely bounced back.
Passport scan unreadable
Glare across the machine-readable zone, a cut-off corner, or a scan where the passport number is blurred will stall the application. Photograph the page flat, in daylight, with no flash.
Applying too close to departure
The eVisa must be granted before you fly, and airlines check it at the gate. Applications submitted the night before a flight leave no room for a document re-upload.
Conditions
These conditions are set by the Government of India and do not vary by nationality. They are worth reading before you book, because two of them — the port-of-entry rule and the restricted-areas rule — catch out a lot of otherwise well-planned trips.
Validity is measured from your date of arrival in India, not from the date you apply. You also need at least two blank pages for immigration stamps.
The India eVisa is accepted at India's designated eVisa airports and authorised seaports. It cannot be used to cross a land border, so overland arrivals from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh or Pakistan need a different visa.
Every person travelling needs their own eVisa and their own passport, including infants and children. Children cannot be added to a parent's application.
An eVisa does not grant access to Protected Areas, Restricted Areas or Cantonment Areas. Parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Sikkim, Ladakh, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep require a Protected Area Permit or Restricted Area Permit in addition to your visa.
You cannot extend an eVisa from inside India or convert it into another visa category. If your plans change, you must leave and apply again.
Diplomatic, official and service passports are not eligible for the eVisa route, and neither are international travel documents or refugee travel documents.
Consular services
The Indian mission serving Albania is not involved in eVisa applications, which are handled entirely online. It covers what the eVisa cannot: employment, journalism, research and long-term student visas, OCI cards, and consular services for Indian nationals in Albania. Some smaller Balkan states are served by an Indian mission in a neighbouring country under concurrent accreditation, so confirm coverage if you need consular help.
FAQs
The questions Albanian passport holders ask most often about applying for an Indian eVisa.
Possibly, and this is the most important thing to check. Albania is outside the EU and Schengen area, so a connection through Vienna, Rome or Frankfurt may require a Schengen transit visa depending on the routing. Your India eVisa says nothing about it, and a Schengen visa takes far longer to obtain. Istanbul and the Gulf hubs usually avoid the question — one reason they dominate this route.
Up to 90 days per visit on the tourist eVisa. The 30-day version allows 30 days with double entry; the one-year and five-year versions are multiple-entry with a 90-day cap per visit. The business eVisa permits up to 180 days per visit within a one-year window, and the medical eVisa 60 days from first entry with triple entry.
Fees are set by nationality and duration, so the pricing panel on this page loads live figures for Albanian passport holders across all available options. You can compare 30-day, one-year and five-year prices side by side, and the amount shown is the full cost including our service fee.
No. Every routing involves at least one connection, and Istanbul is the standard choice — shortest, usually cheapest, and it avoids Schengen transit questions. Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the main alternatives, and they open up Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram directly for Kerala. Total journey time is 10 to 16 hours.
Match the printed name line on your passport data page. The machine-readable zone renders ë as E and ç as C — so Çela appears as CELA there. Either form is generally accepted, but consistency across your visa, passport and airline ticket is what matters.
No. Indian Visa on Arrival is limited to Japanese, South Korean and Emirati nationals. Albanian citizens need an approved visa before boarding, and because every routing starts with a connection, your airline may check it at Tirana.
October to March for the classic circuits, with February and March giving the best value. The Albanian summer holidays fall in the monsoon, which rules out Rajasthan — but July and August are the best months for Ladakh and Spiti, and Kerala's monsoon is the traditional Ayurveda season.
No. The eVisa cannot be extended or converted from inside India. If you need longer, either split the trip across two entries on a multiple-entry visa — leaving India by air and returning — or apply for a regular visa through an Indian mission before you travel.
Your nationality is already set to Albania. Complete the form in under ten minutes, and our team will check every detail before it reaches the Indian authorities.
Other nationalities
Stay limits, fees and requirements differ by passport. Here are the guides for other nationalities.
