Montserrat travellers 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 Montserrat travellers
Montserrat issues British Overseas Territories Citizen passports, a different British nationality class from British Citizen. Most BOTC holders also acquired full British Citizenship in 2002, and that passport carries the more generous 180-day Indian stay allowance. Montserrat also has no long-haul airport — every journey begins with a ferry or short flight to Antigua.
Overview
Montserrat is one of the smallest jurisdictions covered here, and its air links reflect the volcanic destruction of the old capital and airport in the 1990s. There is no long-haul service, and every journey to India begins with a ferry or short flight to Antigua, from which London is the natural onward hub.
The passport question matters as it does across the British Overseas Territories. Montserratians hold BOTC passports, but most also became entitled to full British Citizenship in 2002 — and a British Citizen passport carries 180 days per visit on the long-validity Indian tourist eVisa against the BOTC's 90.
Whichever you use, a visa granted before departure is required. 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 — genuinely useful where there is no resident Indian mission.
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. A visa is required before boarding regardless of which British passport you hold.
The first question is which document you travel on. A British Citizen passport gets 180 days per visit on the one-year and five-year tourist eVisas; a BOTC passport gets the standard 90. Verify your BOTC position before assuming the eVisa route is open.
Then choose the category by purpose. Tourism, sightseeing and visiting relatives fall under the tourist eVisa. Business meetings and trade fairs require the business eVisa. Hospital treatment requires the medical eVisa. Employment, journalism, research and long-term study need a regular visa from an Indian mission.
Stay & validity
On a British Citizen passport the tourist eVisa permits up to 180 days per visit on the one-year and five-year multiple-entry versions. On a BOTC passport the standard 90 days per visit applies.
The 30-day version allows double entry either way, counted from your arrival date. On the longer visas, validity begins on the date the Indian government grants the application.
The eVisa is bound to a single passport number, so you must enter India on the document the visa was issued against. If you hold both passports, decide before applying.
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 Montserrat passport holders, shown all-in — nothing further is charged later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as Montserrat
Requirements
Everything Montserrat 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 extend them.
Apply at least two weeks before departure. Sort the routing and the passport question first — the Antigua transfer is weather-sensitive and a US transit visa, if your routing needs one, takes far longer than the eVisa.
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
Montserrat has no long-haul airport. Every journey begins with a ferry or short flight to Antigua, from which London is the natural onward hub and gives access to seven Indian cities nonstop. Total journey times run 26 to 34 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 and disrupts the Antigua ferry as much as long-haul departures.
Montserrat's dry season runs roughly December to April, which aligns well with India's best weather.
Avoid the northern plains in May and June, when temperatures exceed 45°C. India is 9.5 hours ahead, so with 26-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 Montserrat — we check for every one of them before submitting.
A British Citizen passport gets 180 days per visit on the long-validity tourist eVisa; a BOTC passport gets 90. Most Montserratians became eligible for full British Citizenship in 2002 and many hold both. For an extended trip the British Citizen passport is materially better.
Montserrat has no long-haul airport, and the ferry or short flight to Antigua sits on top of a 26-to-34-hour journey. Both are weather-sensitive and the ferry schedule is limited. Build in real margin — ideally an overnight in Antigua — rather than a same-day connection.
The eVisa is tied to a specific passport number and you must enter India on that document. Applying on one and travelling on the other means arriving with a visa that does not match.
Antigua connects to Miami and New York as well as London, and a US connection requires a US visa or ESTA even airside. The Antigua–London routing avoids the issue entirely and gives access to seven Indian cities nonstop.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs June to November, and it disrupts the Antigua ferry as much as the long-haul legs. Travel between December and May if you can.
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
There is no resident Indian mission in Montserrat. Consular matters are handled by an Indian mission in the region or in the UK under concurrent accreditation. That has no bearing on your eVisa, which is entirely online — and it is exactly why the eVisa is the practical route for a jurisdiction this small. Confirm coverage if you need a student, employment or research visa.
FAQs
The questions Montserrat passport holders ask most often about applying for an Indian eVisa.
Every journey begins with a ferry or short flight to Antigua, from which London Heathrow is the natural onward hub — it has the densest Indian network in Europe, nonstop to seven cities. Total journey time is 26 to 34 hours including the transfer. Build in real margin for the Antigua leg, ideally an overnight, since both the ferry and the short flight are weather-sensitive.
No. British Overseas Territories Citizen is a distinct British nationality class, and it does not carry the 180-day Indian stay allowance that British Citizen passports do — BOTC holders get 90 days per visit. Most Montserratians also became entitled to full British Citizenship in 2002 and many hold both documents.
It depends on your passport. On a British Citizen passport, up to 180 days per visit on the one-year or five-year tourist eVisa. On a BOTC passport, the standard 90 days per visit. The business eVisa permits 180 days per visit regardless of which you hold.
Decide before you apply and use that one document consistently. The eVisa is tied to a specific passport number and you must enter India on the passport the visa was issued against. For a long trip the British Citizen passport gives twice the allowance.
Only if your routing connects through the United States. Antigua connects to Miami and New York as well as London, and a US connection requires a US visa or ESTA even airside. The Antigua–London routing avoids the issue entirely and is usually the better choice anyway.
Significantly. The Atlantic hurricane season runs June to November, and it disrupts the Antigua ferry and short flights that begin your journey as much as the long-haul legs. Travel between December and May if you can — that is India's best season anyway.
There is no resident mission. Consular matters are handled by an Indian mission in the region or in the UK under concurrent accreditation. That has no bearing on your eVisa, which is entirely online — and for a jurisdiction this small that is exactly why the eVisa is the practical route.
Fees are set by nationality and duration, so the figures differ between a British Citizen and a BOTC passport. The pricing panel on this page loads live figures for the applicable nationality across all available options, and the amount shown is the full cost including our service fee.
Your nationality is already set to Montserrat. 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.
