India launches two new special category visa for international students

NEW DELHI: India has launched two special category visa for international students intending to pursue higher education in academic institutions in the country. The 'e-student visa' and 'e-student-x' visa have been introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs and all applicants will have to use the 'Study in India' (SII) portal launched by the government, officials said. The e-student visa facility can be availed by eligible foreign students registered on the SII portal while e-student-x visa is offered to the dependents of those holding e-student visas, they said.

The SII portal facilitates the admission process of international students who wish to pursue either long-term or short-term courses in India. Students will need to apply for a visa separately on the portal https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/ but the authenticity of their application will be checked by SII ID. Hence it is mandatory for students to apply to Indian higher educational institutions through SII website, the officials said. Students may apply for the visa after receiving an admission offer letter from any of the SII partner institutes.

Visa duration and extension

The e-student visa will be granted to such foreign nationals who obtain admission to studying in India and who wish to pursue such studies, regular, full-time, courses of under graduate, post graduation, PhD and such other formal programmes at educational institutes duly recognised by the statutory and regulatory body in India, the officials said. Student visas are issued for up to five years, depending on the duration of the course. They can also be extended in India. Further, those having valid e-student visas can enter India from any desired port of immigration check post, the officials said.

The SII is a flagship project of the Ministry of Education which hosts international students seeking higher education through its 600+ partner institutes offering more than 8000+ diverse courses in disciplines such as engineering & technology, management, agriculture, sciences, arts and humanities, language studies, commerce, law, paramedical sciences covering pharmacy, nursing, and select niche courses like Buddhist Studies, Yoga, etc. Furthermore, they are available in different levels, from Undergraduate (Bachelors), Post-graduate (Masters), Doctoral level (PhD) and certification-based courses.

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Registration for SII application

e to the availability of an array of options (in courses), the students have the flexibility to choose the course of their interest and study in premier Indian institutes. Furthermore, the process to get on board with SII is relatively easy and can be done through its online application submission, seeking admission to students' choice of programmes and further processing of applications for seeking admission, the officials said. Students can get started right away by completing the first step to apply, i.e. registration, by clicking on the 'Register Now' tab.

The students are required to fill in simple details such as name, country, date of birth, mobile number and email ID. Every student aspiring to complete their higher education in India and applying to study in India must have their unique student SII ID as this ID is what will help them to access their dashboard, track the progress of college and course applications, visa/e-visa, and other higher education in India-related processes. No student SII ID means no chance of studying or moving to India, the officials added.