India Visa for French Citizens: e-Visa, Fees and the Embassy in Paris

France is on India's e-Visa list, so a French citizen can do the whole application online and never visit an embassy. India's visa on arrival is a short list (nationals of Japan, South Korea and, on conditions, the UAE), so a French passport needs its visa before boarding.

The e-Tourist Visa covers recreation and sightseeing, visits to friends and relatives, a short yoga programme, short, unstructured courses of up to six months that lead to no certificate, and up to a month of unpaid voluntary work. Meetings and other business need the e-Business Visa; treatment in an Indian hospital needs the e-Medical Visa. Paid employment, journalism and work for an NGO are outside every e-Visa, and those need a regular visa from the Embassy.

The fee table on the official portal, dated 8 September 2026, lists these e-Tourist fees for France, in US dollars. A 3% bank charge is added to each payment, and the fee is not refunded if the application is refused.

The table does not say whether the April-to-June rate depends on when you apply or when you travel, so check the figure the portal shows before you pay. If you are weighing a spring trip against the cooler months, see the best time to visit India.

One French figure stands out. The portal's table for other e-Visas lists the e-Business Visa at US$165 for France, against US$120 for Germany, Italy and the Netherlands; the e-Medical Visa is US$80, as for most of Europe. None of these visas can be extended in India or turned into another kind of visa.

The Embassy calls indianvisaonline.gov.in the only authorised Indian e-Visa website and cautions against any other site that appears to represent the Government of India. It also states that it does not process e-Visas, so questions go to the portal's own helpdesk.

• When: at least four days before you arrive, and no earlier than 120 days before your travel date.
• Passport: six months' validity on the day you apply, and two blank pages for the immigration stamp.
• Uploads: the passport's photo page as a PDF of 10 KB to 300 KB, and a JPEG photo of 10 KB to 1 MB on a plain light or white background.
• To carry: a copy of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), a return or onward ticket, and enough money for your stay.

Every foreign national must also submit the free e-Arrival Card in the 72 hours before landing; it is an arrival record, not a visa. Our India e-Visa guide sets out the application step by step, and our visa assistance page explains what we can check before you submit.

VFS Global ended its operations for the Embassy from 1 July 2025, and since then all consular, passport and visa services are handled directly by the Consular Section of the Embassy of India, 20-22 Rue Albéric Magnard, 75116 Paris. The process:

1. Fill in the regular visa form on indianvisaonline.gov.in. Submitting it online does not complete the application.
2. Book an appointment on the Embassy's own appointment portal.
3. Take the printed, signed form, your passport and the supporting documents to the Embassy in person on that day, and pay the visa fee at the Embassy counter.

The Embassy gives a minimum of 10 working days for French passport holders. It also lists Consulates General in Marseille and in Saint-Denis on Réunion; ask them directly whether they take your application.