India Adds 11 New E-Visa Entry Points, Including Tirupati and Bhopal Airports

India has expanded the list of ports where foreign nationals can enter on an e-visa, adding 11 new locations after the Ministry of Home Affairs notified the change on August 10, 2026. Two of the additions are airports — Tirupati and Bhopal — while the other nine are land crossings. The move brings the total number of authorized e-visa entry points to 88.

What changed

According to a Press Information Bureau release, the government has notified 11 more international ports for e-visa holders. The updated network of 88 entry points is split among 37 airports, 38 seaports and 13 land ports. India offers its e-visa facility to nationals of 172 countries across 17 sub-categories, covering tourism, business and medical travel.

The government framed the expansion as part of a wider effort to "liberalize, streamline and simplify the visa regime" while strengthening its technology infrastructure. The system already leans heavily on electronic processing: nearly 78% of visas India issues are electronic, and roughly 95% of applications are cleared within 72 hours.

Tirupati sits beside the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, a major religious site. Previously, foreign visitors typically landed at Chennai, Bengaluru or Hyderabad before continuing by air or road. The airport's runway now stretches 3,810 meters — described as the longest among Airports Authority of India operated fields — and can handle wide-body aircraft.

What it means for nomads

For remote workers planning time in India, more entry points mean more flexibility in how and where you arrive. If you were routing through a handful of major hubs, direct arrivals at newly added airports or land borders can shorten trips and open up regions that were harder to reach on an e-visa.

That said, entry rules change frequently and infrastructure readiness does not always mean flights are immediately available. Direct international routes into airports like Tirupati depend on airlines adding service; the source notes discussions were underway with carriers for Gulf routes, but nothing was confirmed.

Before booking, always verify your intended arrival point against the current entry-point list on India's official e-visa portal, since the dropdown of eligible ports is the authoritative reference. Also check your travel government's advisory — the U.S. State Department kept India at "Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution" in its August 11, 2026 update and directs travelers to the official portal for the latest entry points.

The practical takeaway: India's e-visa footprint keeps growing, giving internationally mobile travelers more ways in, but confirm both visa eligibility and actual flight availability for any newly listed port before you commit to an itinerary.

Originally reported by VisaVerge.