Yes, all foreigners except for nationals of Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives, need a visa to enter India. With regard to Maldives' nationals, a visa is required if intended stay in India would be longer than 90 days. Nationals of Nepal would need a visa , if they enter India via China. A citizen of Bhutan entering India by land or air does not require passport or visa for entry into India, unless entering India from a place other than Bhutan. In that case, passport is must. However, he/she must have a passport and visa for India if he/she is entering in India from China. For diplomatic and official passport holders, many nationalities are exempted from the Indian Visa. The detailed list can be accessed at http://mea.gov.in/bvwa.htm

In case you are applying for Visa other than tourist visa, it is recommended that you apply for your India visa 3 to 4 weeks before your travel date. Although the visa itself may only take a few days to process, it is always advisable to add as much of buffer time as possible in case any issues arises during the process. Tourist visa (eTV) can be applied for 3-4 days in advance.

No, it is not possible to apply for an India visa at the airport. Eligible citizens traveling for leisure/tourism purposes have the option to apply for an Indian eTV visa online, before they depart for India. Once visa is granted, citizens will have to get biometric information taken at the airport and the visa stamped on the passport on arrival in India.

e-Tourist Visa is a completely online application for which no facilitation is required by any intermediary/agents, etc. However its validity is 30 days and and it is only valid for single entry into India. The e-Tourist visa allows for visa on arrival issuance only for arrival and departure from the airports in Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru (Bangalore), Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Gaya, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Tiruchirapalli, Trivandrum and Varanasi. If arriving or departing by land, by sea, or from any other airport or port of entry, please apply for a traditional Indian visa. https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/tvoa.html

More information on visa can be found on concerned Indian Mission and Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) as well as online visa portal ( https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/index.html ). The instructions for filling the form and scheduling the appointment can be seen at Instructions for Regular Visa Application. Important technical information for filling online Indian visa application can be referred at Technical Instructions. The status of Visa Application can be seen on the link for Visa Enquiry ( https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/VisaEnquiry.jsp ).

Tourist Visa can be granted to a foreigner whose sole objective of visiting India is recreation, sight seeing, casual visit to meet friends or relatives, attending a short-term yoga programme, etc. and no other purpose/ activity.

http://mha1.nic.in/pdfs/MaterialTV_02062016_01.pdf

A foreign national coming as a volunteer for honorary work with the NGOs registered in the country, may be paid a salary up-to a ceiling of INR 10,000 per month. http://mha1.nic.in/pdfs/ForeigD-ClarifEmpVISA-Guid.pdf

The salary threshold limit of US$ 25000 per annum includes salary and all other allowances paid to the foreign national in cash. Perquisites like rent free accommodation, etc. which are included in ‘salary’ for the purpose of calculating the income tax may also be taken into account for this purpose. However, perquisites which are not included for working out the income tax should not be taken into account for working out the salary threshold limit of US$ 25,000 per annum. The company / organisation concerned should clearly indicate in the employment contract –

(i) the salary and allowances being paid in cash and

(ii) all other perquisites like rent free accommodation, etc. which would be taken into account for the purpose of working out the income tax payable by the employee. Such perquisites should also be quantified and indicated in the employment contract.

http://mha1.nic.in/pdfs/EmploymentVisa_080114.pdf

No, foreign nationals already in India on business visas are not allowed to convert their business visas to employment visas. He/She has to go back to his home country and re-apply for fresh visa. http://mha1.nic.in/pdfs/BusinessVisa-300514.pdf

No, it is not necessary for Indian organization/entity sponsoring an employment visa to necessarily be the legal employer of the person.

Note: The employment visa has to be endorsed by an Indian “host” company. 

http://mha1.nic.in/pdfs/EmploymentVisa_080114.pdf

Senior management personnel and/or specialists employed by foreign firms, who are relocated to India to work on specific project/management assignment can apply for employment visa. http://mha1.nic.in/pdfs/EmploymentVisa-300514.pdf

No, change of employer shall not be permitted during the term of the initial employment visa within India except in respect of change of employment between a registered holding company and its subsidiary and vice-versa or between subsidiaries of a registered holding company. The change of employment in such cases could be considered subject to some conditions.