Bahamian 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
Important for Bahamian citizens
Nassau has United States preclearance, which means a US-routed journey clears American immigration in the Bahamas before departure rather than on arrival. You still need a US visa or ESTA, and you need it before you check in at Nassau — not at your connecting airport. The London routing avoids the question entirely and is usually the better option for India.
Overview
The Bahamas has a feature almost no other Caribbean jurisdiction shares: United States preclearance at Nassau. If your route to India goes via Miami, New York or Atlanta, you clear American immigration in the Bahamas before you board — which means your US visa or ESTA has to be in hand at check-in in Nassau, not at the connecting airport.
That makes the London routing particularly attractive. British Airways serves Nassau from Heathrow, which has nonstop service to seven Indian cities, so the whole journey is two flights with no US involvement at all.
Every Bahamian 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. Bahamian passport holders receive up to 90 days per visit on the tourist eVisa.
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. Commonwealth membership makes no difference — Bahamian citizens must hold an approved Indian visa before boarding.
Choose the category by purpose. Tourism, sightseeing and visiting relatives fall under the tourist eVisa. Business meetings, trade fairs and financial-services work require the business eVisa — relevant given Nassau's role as an offshore financial centre. 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.
Your India eVisa says nothing about US preclearance. If you route via the United States you need a US visa or ESTA in hand when you check in at Nassau, because that is where American immigration is cleared.
Stay & validity
Bahamian 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.
Ninety days is ample for the kind of trip that justifies a 22-hour journey. The eVisa cannot be extended from inside India, so build the full plan before you submit.
The eVisa is bound to a single passport number, so a passport renewal during a multi-year visa's term invalidates it, with no transfer process.
The business eVisa allows up to 180 days per visit within a one-year multiple-entry window — double the tourist allowance. The medical eVisa gives 60 days from first entry with triple entry.
Pricing
Live government fees and service charges for Bahamian passport holders, shown all-in — nothing further is charged later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as Bahamas
Requirements
Everything Bahamian 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 if you take the London routing, since the Indian eVisa is then the only permission you need. If you route via the United States, the US visa or ESTA takes far longer and should be sorted first.
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
Nassau connects to London and to several US gateways, but the US options run through preclearance in the Bahamas. British Airways to Heathrow gives access to seven Indian cities nonstop with no US involvement. Total journey times run 20 to 28 hours.
Best time to go
October to March is India's dry season and the best window for the classic circuits. It also avoids the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs June to November — the Bahamas sits squarely in the belt and has been severely affected in recent years, so this is a real consideration.
The Bahamian high season runs December to April, overlapping with India's best weather. If you work in tourism or financial services, October, November and May are the practical alternatives.
Avoid the northern plains in May and June, when temperatures exceed 45°C. India is 10.5 hours ahead of Bahamian time, so with 20-plus hours in transit plan a genuine rest day on arrival.
Avoid these
Refusals are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the problems that come up most often on applications from Bahamas — we check for every one of them before submitting.
The distinctive trap here. Nassau has United States preclearance, so if your route goes via Miami, New York or Atlanta you clear American immigration in the Bahamas before boarding — not at the connecting airport. Your US visa or ESTA must be valid and in hand at check-in in Nassau. Travellers who assume they can sort it in transit are turned away before they fly.
British Airways serves Nassau from Heathrow, which has nonstop service to seven Indian cities. That routing is faster, needs no US permission at all, and avoids the preclearance question entirely. Price it first.
It does not. The Bahamas and India are both Commonwealth members, but that confers no visa advantage — an approved Indian visa is required before boarding exactly as for any other nationality.
The Bahamas sits squarely in the Atlantic hurricane belt and has been severely affected in recent years. The season runs June to November, and on a 22-hour itinerary a disrupted departure cascades badly. December to May is materially safer and is India's best season anyway.
The eVisa is bound to a single passport number, and a five-year visa spans much of a passport cycle. Renewing invalidates the visa attached to the old number, with no transfer process.
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 Bahamas is served under concurrent accreditation by an Indian mission in the region rather than by a resident post. That has no bearing on your eVisa, which is entirely online. Confirm coverage if you need a student, employment or research visa, or an OCI card.
FAQs
The questions Bahamian passport holders ask most often about applying for an Indian eVisa.
Nassau has United States preclearance, which means that if your route to India goes via Miami, New York or Atlanta, you clear American immigration in the Bahamas before you board — not on arrival in the US. The practical consequence is that your US visa or ESTA must be valid and in hand when you check in at Nassau. Travellers who assume they can deal with it in transit are turned away before they fly.
Yes, and it is usually the better option. British Airways serves Nassau from London Heathrow, which has nonstop service to seven Indian cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi and Amritsar. The whole journey is two flights, faster than the US routings, and needs no US permission at all.
Up to 90 days per visit on the tourist eVisa. The 30-day version allows 30 days with double entry. The business eVisa permits up to 180 days per visit within a one-year multiple-entry window, and the medical eVisa 60 days from first entry with triple entry.
No. The Bahamas and India are both Commonwealth members, but that confers no visa advantage. An approved Indian visa is required before boarding, exactly as for any other nationality, and there is no visa-free or visa-on-arrival facility.
The business eVisa. Client meetings, due diligence visits and fund work are commercial activities the tourist eVisa does not cover. You will need an invitation letter from the Indian entity on its letterhead. It permits up to 180 days per visit within a one-year multiple-entry window — twice the tourist allowance.
Significantly. The Bahamas sits squarely in the Atlantic hurricane belt and has been severely affected in recent years. The season runs June to November, and on a 22-hour itinerary a disrupted departure cascades badly. December to May is materially safer, and it is India's best season anyway.
No — apply after the new passport is in hand. The eVisa is bound to a single passport number and renewing invalidates it, with no transfer process. This matters most on a five-year visa, which spans much of a passport cycle.
Fees are set by nationality and duration, so the pricing panel on this page loads live figures for Bahamian 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.
Your nationality is already set to Bahamas. 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.
