India Now Lets You Move an e-Visa to a New Passport Online — What UAE Residents Need to Know

India’s official e-Visa portal, indianvisaonline.gov.in, now includes "Transfer of eVisa/ETA on New Passport" in its list of e-Visa services. The transfer page asks for the existing passport number, the ETA number and a date of birth, and covers the passport change only: if any other detail has changed, it says to make a new e-Visa application.

The ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) is the approval India emails you when an e-Visa is granted; you print it and present it at the immigration checkpost, where the e-Visa is stamped in your passport. The service moves that one grant to the new passport.

India’s e-Visa instructions already allow entry on a new passport when the ETA was issued on the old one, provided you carry the old passport as well, and the portal’s FAQ says the same for an ETA that is still valid. That rule is not new, and it still stands. The transfer is an additional route — the one to look at if you would rather travel on the new passport alone, or no longer have the old one.

The service matters to the UAE’s communities who visit India on an e-Visa — among them Filipino, Sri Lankan, British, American and Emirati passport holders, all on the portal’s list of eligible countries. It matters most if your e-Visa will still be valid after you replace your passport.

The transfer page does not say which e-Visas can be moved, what the transfer costs or how long it takes, and we found no announcement or published rules for it on the Bureau of Immigration’s website. Reports describing further limits could not be confirmed from any official source, so we have not repeated them.

1. 1Check that your e-Visa is still valid, and keep your ETA number and old passport number to hand.
2. 2If you still have the old passport, carry both — India’s e-Visa instructions allow entry on the new passport on that condition.
3. 3If you want the e-Visa on the new passport, or no longer have the old one, choose "Transfer of eVisa/ETA on New Passport" on indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa and finish before you travel. If it does not accept your case and you no longer have the old passport, apply for a new e-Visa.
4. 4If your name or any other detail has changed, apply for a new e-Visa.
5. 5Use only the official portal: its FAQ states that indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa is the only official website for e-Visa services.

This update is based on publicly available information from India’s official e-Visa portal (indianvisaonline.gov.in) and the Bureau of Immigration as of 28 September 2026. The portal offers a transfer of an e-Visa (ETA) to a new passport; its transfer page states no fee, processing time or eligible e-Visa types. This analysis is provided for informational purposes to help UAE residents understand the change. It does not constitute legal advice. For the latest official information, always refer to https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html.