Arriving in India by Air: Immigration, Customs and the Way into Town

• The right visa, and the right airport. e-Visa holders may enter only through the designated airports listed on the e-Visa portal, which include Delhi, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Kochi and both Goa airports. Carry a copy of your electronic travel authorisation and travel on the passport you applied with. Our India e-Visa guide covers the application, and OCI cards and entry rules covers overseas citizens.
• The e-Arrival card. Foreign nationals and OCI cardholders complete it online in the 72 hours before arrival, on indianvisaonline.gov.in or the official Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app. It records your arrival; it is not a visa. Our e-Arrival card guide walks through it.
• A yellow fever certificate, if it applies. Anyone arriving within six days of leaving a country where yellow fever is endemic must carry an original, valid vaccination certificate. Ask a travel clinic whether your route counts.
• A customs declaration, only if you need one. Since February 2026, passengers carrying dutiable or prohibited goods declare them online on CBIC's ATITHI portal or app, up to three days before arrival. If you carry nothing of the kind, there is nothing to file.

Every arriving passenger, Indian or foreign, clears immigration. The officer checks your passport and visa; if you hold an e-Visa, your biometric details are taken at this point. The passport is then stamped. The Bureau of Immigration asks travellers to make sure the arrival seal is actually on their passport before they walk away, and reminds them that a visa does not by itself guarantee entry, which is at the officer's discretion.

Have to hand: your passport, your visa or e-Visa printout, the address of your first night's stay and your onward or return ticket.

After the baggage belt comes customs, with two channels:

• Green channel for passengers carrying nothing dutiable or prohibited.
• Red channel for anyone with goods to declare: items over the duty-free allowance, or things on the declaration form such as pets, drones, gold bullion or currency above the set limits.

The duty-free allowance depends on your category, and it is lower for tourists of foreign origin than for residents. Adults may also bring one new laptop duty-free. Our money guide covers cash and cards.

Delhi. All international flights use Terminal 3. The Airport Express (Orange Line) metro runs from Terminal 3 to New Delhi railway station in about 25 minutes, with ticket machines in the Terminal 3 and Terminal 2 arrivals areas; Terminal 1 has its own station on the Magenta Line, a 5 to 7 minute walk through a covered subway. Prepaid and fixed-rate taxis, app-based cabs and car rentals wait outside arrivals at every terminal; at Terminal 3 the pick-up is level 0 of the multi-level car park.

Mumbai. Metro Line 3, the Aqua Line, has stations at both terminals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and runs underground to Dadar, CSMT, Churchgate and Cuffe Parade. Mumbai also has a second international airport at Navi Mumbai, so check which one your ticket names.

Chennai and Kolkata. Chennai Metro has a station at Chennai International Airport, and Kolkata's Yellow Line serves the airport at Jai Hind Bimanbandar station.

Wherever you land, the UK Foreign Office advises against hailing taxis on the street, especially at night, notes that app-based and prepaid taxis are available at airport terminals, and suggests that if a hotel driver collects you, you make sure they identify themselves before you set off. Our metro guide explains tokens and QR tickets.

A driver waiting with a name board removes the hardest part of a late-night arrival. Ours track your flight, so a delay does not leave you waiting, and the transfer is part of every tour package we run, or can be booked on its own (airport transfers). If a long layover is all you have, see India layover itineraries.