Visa for US citizen spouse & children

[Fijoy 1]

Hello,

 

I am an Indian citizen married to a US citizen. Our children (twins under 2 years) are US citizens. All of us are planning to travel to India in November to visit with family for about 2 weeks, and need some advice on what type of visa we should get.

 

Based on the research I have done online, I have ruled out OCI cards, since it needs more time & paperwork and we do not intend to visit India often. That leaves e-Visa, tourist visa, and entry visa, correct? I am leaning toward entry visa or tourist visa, since I do not want to restrict port of entry by getting an e-Visa (we haven't bought our tickets yet). 

 

Does anyone know the difference between entry visa and tourist visa? I can't find a good source for this online. Should spouses and children of Indian citizens apply for an entry visa as opposed to a tourist visa? Which one has less paperwork and cost?

 

Thanks.

[KozmicBlues 592]

If you are only going for two weeks and don't plan on going back often then e-tourist visa is the quickest/easiest/cheapest option. But if you plan on going back several times in the next 5-10 years then you may want to look into just getting them tourist visas. I went to India twice on e-tourist visa then got a 10 year tourist visa so I would have the option of staying longer. It's also must more cost effective when visiting many times. 

 

e-tourist visa:

only takes 2-5 days to get it, no paperwork required to submit, completely online application

cost is around $65 USD

valid for up to 30 days stay (may have recently been changed to 60 days)

I know you said you didn't want to limit the port of entry but I recall every major airport being listed as options. You can double check on the website.

 

tourist visa:

requires paperwork to be submitted, but is still a pretty quick process after submitting the application

I got mine in 5-7 days once I submitted the application

cost is around $130 but it's a one time cost

US citizens can get a 10 year visa valid for multiple entries as long as each one doesn't exceed 6 months