Tuvalu 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 Tuvalu citizens
Tuvalu has a single international air link — Fiji Airways from Suva, on a handful of weekly frequencies. That is the whole of the country's connection to the outside world, and it governs the entire itinerary. Build the journey around it, allow an overnight in Fiji, and choose a visa duration with enough life to absorb a missed week.
Overview
Tuvalu has the most constrained international access of any country covered here. Funafuti is served by Fiji Airways from Suva on a handful of weekly frequencies, and that single link is the country's entire connection to the outside world. Everything about a trip to India follows from it.
Fiji is therefore both the gateway and the point of failure. From Nadi, Singapore or Hong Kong connect onward to India, and total travel time runs 28 to 40 hours in the best case — considerably longer if the Funafuti service is disrupted, since the next opportunity may be several days away.
Tuvalu also supplies a notable number of merchant seafarers relative to its population, which brings the seafarer documentation question into play for anyone joining a ship in an Indian port.
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 — an approved Indian visa is required before boarding, and it will be checked at Funafuti or Suva.
Choose the category by purpose. Tourism, sightseeing and visiting friends fall under the tourist eVisa. Business meetings and trade fairs 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.
For Tuvalu's seafaring workforce: 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 manning company before travelling, because it cannot be resolved at the port.
Stay & validity
Tuvalu 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 a single air link on weekly frequencies, a one-year multiple-entry visa is clearly the better buy over a 30-day one. Validity runs from the grant date, and a missed Funafuti departure can consume a large share of a short visa before the journey has begun.
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 Tuvalu passport holders, shown all-in — nothing further is charged later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as Tuvalu
Requirements
Everything Tuvalu 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 visa is by far the easiest part of this journey. Confirm the Funafuti service and your Fiji connection first, then apply for a visa with enough life to absorb a lost week.
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
Tuvalu has one international air link: Fiji Airways from Suva, on a handful of weekly frequencies. Fiji is the gateway, with Singapore or Hong Kong onward to India. Total journey times run 28 to 40 hours in the best case.
Best time to go
October to March is India's dry season and the best window for the classic circuits. This overlaps with the South Pacific cyclone season, which runs November to April — and on a single weekly air link, a cyclone disruption is materially more costly than almost anywhere else.
For South India — reachable via Singapore — 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. Tuvalu sits west of the date line at UTC+12, so the calendar shift travelling to India is large — check the arrival date printed on your ticket.
Avoid these
Refusals are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the problems that come up most often on applications from Tuvalu — we check for every one of them before submitting.
The defining constraint, and it is more absolute here than for any other country covered. Tuvalu has one international service — Fiji Airways from Suva, on a handful of weekly frequencies. There is no alternative carrier and no alternative route. A missed or cancelled flight means waiting days. Build the entire journey around it and allow an overnight in Fiji.
With a single weekly air link, a one-year multiple-entry visa is clearly the better buy. Validity runs from the grant date, so a missed Funafuti departure can consume a large share of a 30-day visa before the journey has even begun.
Relevant given how many Tuvaluans work as merchant seafarers. 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 manning company before booking.
The South Pacific cyclone season runs November to April and overlaps with India's best weather. On a single weekly air link a disruption is materially more costly than elsewhere — there is nothing to rebook onto.
Tuvalu sits west of the international date line at UTC+12, so the calendar shift travelling to India is large. 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
Tuvalu is served under concurrent accreditation by the Indian mission in Suva rather than by a resident post — which is convenient, since Suva is also where every Tuvaluan international journey begins. That has no bearing on your eVisa, which is entirely online, and for a country with a single air link that is precisely why the eVisa is the only practical route.
FAQs
The questions Tuvalu passport holders ask most often about applying for an Indian eVisa.
Build the entire journey around it. Funafuti is served by Fiji Airways from Suva on a handful of weekly frequencies, and that single link is the country's whole connection to the outside world — there is no alternative carrier or route. A missed or cancelled flight means waiting days. Allow an overnight in Fiji rather than a same-day connection.
A one-year multiple-entry visa rather than the 30-day option — the case is clearer here than almost anywhere. Validity runs from the grant date, and with a single weekly air link a missed departure can consume a large share of a 30-day visa before the journey has even begun.
Funafuti to Suva with Fiji Airways, then Singapore or Hong Kong onward to India — Singapore opens the widest set of Indian arrival cities. Total journey time is 28 to 40 hours in the best case, considerably longer if the Funafuti service is disrupted.
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 how many Tuvaluans work as merchant seafarers this comes up regularly. Confirm the requirements with your manning company 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.
More than almost anywhere. The South Pacific cyclone season runs November to April and overlaps with India's best travel window, and on a single weekly air link a disruption is materially more costly — there is nothing to rebook onto. Build in real margin and prefer a longer visa.
Tuvalu is served under concurrent accreditation by the Indian mission in Suva — which is convenient, since Suva is where every Tuvaluan international journey begins anyway. That has no bearing on your eVisa, which is entirely online, and for a country with a single air link that is exactly why the eVisa is the only practical route.
Fees are set by nationality and duration, so the pricing panel on this page loads live figures for Tuvalu 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 Tuvalu. 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.
