Marshall Islands 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 Marshall Islands citizens
Almost every route out of Majuro runs through Guam or Honolulu, both United States territory. The Compact of Free Association governs your rights in the US, not your onward journey — and your India eVisa says nothing about either. Settle the US side of the routing before booking, because it takes far longer than the Indian visa.
Overview
The Marshall Islands presents the sharpest version of a problem common across Micronesia: almost every route out runs through United States territory. Majuro's connections are dominated by the island-hopper service through Guam and Honolulu, and the Compact of Free Association — which gives Marshallese particular rights in the US — governs your status there rather than smoothing an onward journey to India.
The Marshall Islands also operates one of the world's largest ship registries, which gives it a real if indirect connection to India: Indian seafarers crew a very large share of Marshallese-flagged vessels.
Every Marshall Islands 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. Marshallese 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. The Compact of Free Association confers nothing in respect of India — an approved Indian visa is required before boarding.
Choose the category by purpose. Tourism, sightseeing and visiting friends fall under the tourist eVisa. Business meetings, ship-registry and maritime work require the business eVisa. Hospital treatment requires the medical eVisa. Employment, journalism, academic research and long-term study need a regular visa from an Indian mission.
One point specific to the maritime sector: joining or leaving a vessel in an Indian port is not covered by a tourist or business eVisa. It involves seafarer documentation and possibly a different visa category — confirm with your agent before travelling, because it cannot be resolved at the port.
Stay & validity
Marshall Islands 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.
Given the length and complexity of the routing, a one-year multiple-entry visa is worth considering over a 30-day one — validity runs from the grant date, and a disruption on the island-hopper can cost days.
The eVisa is bound to a single passport number, so a passport renewal during a multi-year visa's term invalidates it.
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 Marshall Islands passport holders, shown all-in — nothing further is charged later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as Marshall Islands
Requirements
Everything Marshall Islands 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 three weeks before departure. The Indian eVisa is not the constraint here — the US side of the routing and the island-hopper schedule are, and both need settling first. Do not buy non-refundable tickets until they are.
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
Majuro's connections are dominated by the island-hopper service through Guam and Honolulu, both US territory. From Guam, Manila is the practical gateway to Asia's Indian network. Total journey times run 24 to 36 hours.
Best time to go
October to March is India's dry season and the best window for the classic circuits. The Marshall Islands sits in the western Pacific typhoon zone, most active from July to November, which is worth avoiding for departure reliability.
For South India — reachable via Singapore or Kuala Lumpur from Manila — January to March is driest, since the north-east monsoon brings rain from October to December.
Avoid the northern plains in May and June, when temperatures exceed 45°C. India is 6.5 hours behind Marshall Islands time, and you cross the date line, so check the arrival date on your ticket rather than calculating it.
Avoid these
Refusals are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the problems that come up most often on applications from Marshall Islands — we check for every one of them before submitting.
The defining misconception. The Compact of Free Association gives Marshallese particular rights to live and work in the United States — it governs your status there, not your onward journey, and confers nothing in respect of India. The Guam and Honolulu legs are US territory with their own entry requirements, and your India eVisa says nothing about them.
It is not. An Indian eVisa takes 24 to 72 hours. The US side of the routing and the island-hopper schedule both take far longer to arrange and are less predictable. Settle those first and treat the eVisa as the quick final step.
Relevant given the size of the Marshallese ship registry. Joining or leaving a ship in an Indian port involves seafarer documentation and possibly a different visa category — it is not tourism or business visiting. Confirm with your agent before booking; it cannot be fixed at the port.
The journey involves multiple connections on thin schedules, and validity runs from the grant date. A disruption can consume a large share of a 30-day visa. A one-year multiple-entry visa gives real resilience.
The Marshall Islands sits west of the international date line, so the calendar shift travelling to India is substantial. Check the arrival date printed on your ticket rather than calculating it.
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 Marshall Islands 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 — and for a jurisdiction this remote that is precisely why the eVisa is the practical route. Confirm coverage if you need a student, employment or research visa, or seafarer documentation.
FAQs
The questions Marshall Islands passport holders ask most often about applying for an Indian eVisa.
No. The Compact gives Marshallese particular rights to live and work in the United States — it governs your status there, not your onward journey, and confers nothing in respect of India. An approved Indian visa is required before boarding, and the Guam and Honolulu legs still require US entry permission.
Only with difficulty. Almost every route out of Majuro runs through Guam or Honolulu, both US territory. Where a Nadi service is available it connects onward through Singapore and avoids the US entirely, but that is the exception rather than the norm. Settle the US side of the routing before booking.
The US side, without question. An Indian eVisa takes 24 to 72 hours; US entry permission takes far longer and is less predictable, as is securing island-hopper seats. Settle those first and treat the eVisa as the quick final step. Do not buy non-refundable tickets until they are confirmed.
No. Signing on or off a vessel in India involves seafarer documentation and, depending on circumstances, a different visa category — it is not tourism or business visiting. Given the size of the Marshallese ship registry this comes up regularly. Confirm the requirements with your shipping agent well before travel.
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.
A one-year multiple-entry visa rather than the 30-day option. The journey involves multiple connections on thin schedules, validity runs from the grant date, and a disruption can consume a large share of a short visa. The extra cost buys real resilience on this routing.
Yes. The Marshall Islands sits west of the international date line, so the calendar shift when travelling to India is substantial. Check the arrival date printed on your ticket rather than calculating it, particularly when booking your first night's accommodation.
Fees are set by nationality and duration, so the pricing panel on this page loads live figures for Marshall Islands passport holders across all available options. The Marshall Islands uses the US dollar, so the USD-denominated government fee is straightforward to pay.
Your nationality is already set to Marshall Islands. 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.
