Do Tunisian passport holders need a visa for India?

By Saurabh Pathare · Travel Writer, Tripmojo · Updated August 31, 2026 · Reviewed by Simran Raheja

Yes, and the online route almost everyone lands on does not apply to you. India’s e-Visa scheme covers a published list of 174 nationalities and Tunisia is not on it, so there is no Electronic Travel Authorisation to apply for. A Tunisian passport holder applies for a regular visa through an Indian mission, and there is no visa on arrival to fall back on either.

Quick facts

Visa required

Visa required: Yes
e-Visa: Not available, Tunisia is not on the eligible list
Eligible list: 174 nationalities, Tunisia absent
Visa on arrival: No, only Japan, South Korea and the UAE
Route: Regular visa through an Indian mission
Watch for: Sites selling an India e-Visa you cannot be issued

Entry requirements

A Tunisian passport and a regular Indian visa obtained before travel, since neither the e-Visa nor a visa on arrival is open to this nationality.
An application lodged with an Indian mission rather than through the e-Visa portal, because the portal only accepts the nationalities on its published list.
The supporting documents the mission asks for, which vary by visa category and are set by the mission rather than by the online scheme.
Entry conditions read from the endorsement on your own visa, since the airport and seaport restrictions published on the e-Visa site are conditions of that scheme rather than general Indian entry rules.

The absence from one list is the whole answer

India publishes a numbered list of the nationalities its e-Visa accepts. It runs to 174 entries and includes most of the world, which is exactly why the gap is easy to miss: a Tunisian traveller reads that India has an e-Visa, sees a long list, and assumes inclusion. Tunisia is not on it. The list moves straight from Trinidad and Tobago to Turks and Caicos Islands.

There is no on-arrival alternative either. The visa portal states that the visa on arrival facility is only for nationals of Japan, South Korea and the UAE, and that Emirati nationals qualify only if they have previously held an Indian visa. For everyone else the visa is arranged before travel.

So the route is a regular visa through an Indian mission, applied for in advance, with the category chosen to match the purpose of the trip. That is a slower path than the online one, and the main practical consequence is timing: build the application into the trip plan rather than treating the visa as something arranged in the last week before departure.

Good to know

Being left off a list is a hard thing to discover, because nothing tells you no. The e-Visa portal is built to move an eligible applicant forward, not to announce exclusions, and the list of accepted nationalities is 174 entries long. A traveller who does not scan it for their own country reads the scheme’s existence as an answer. The absence is the answer here, and it is worth confirming for yourself on the portal rather than trusting a summary, because these lists are revised.
Any site offering you an India e-Visa is selling something that cannot be issued to you. That is a sharper warning than the usual advice about overpriced intermediaries. For an eligible nationality a middleman charges a markup on a real document; for a Tunisian passport holder there is no underlying document at all, so the transaction cannot end in a visa regardless of what is paid. India’s own portal warns travellers about intermediaries, and this is the case where the warning is not about money alone.
Visa on arrival in India is real, tiny and not for you. The portal names Japan, South Korea and the UAE, and even the Emirati case is conditional on having previously obtained an Indian visa. Generic guides that mention Indian visa on arrival without naming the three countries create a false expectation that gets discovered at a boarding gate, which is the point at which nothing can be fixed.
The rules people quote most loudly about Indian visas may not be your rules. The scheduled entry points, 36 airports, twelve land ports and 38 seaports for cruise tourists, are conditions attached to the e-Visa scheme and are published on the e-Visa site. They are not general Indian entry rules, and a regular visa is read on its own endorsement instead. So check what your own visa says rather than importing restrictions from a scheme you are not in, and be wary of advice that assumes every visitor to India is on an e-Visa, because most published guidance is written for the 174 nationalities that are.

Frequently asked questions

Can Tunisian citizens apply for an Indian e-Visa?

No. India publishes a list of 174 nationalities eligible for the e-Visa and Tunisia is not among them, so the online application is not open to Tunisian passport holders.

Is there a visa on arrival for Tunisians in India?

No. India limits visa on arrival to nationals of Japan, South Korea and the UAE, and the Emirati case additionally requires a previously held Indian visa.

So how does a Tunisian traveller get an Indian visa?

Through a regular visa application lodged with an Indian mission before travel, in the category that matches the purpose of the trip.

A website is offering me an Indian e-Visa. Should I use it?

No. The e-Visa cannot be issued to a Tunisian passport holder at all, so no intermediary can deliver one whatever they charge.

Do the airport and seaport entry restrictions apply to me?

Those are conditions of the e-Visa scheme. On a regular visa, the entry conditions are the ones endorsed on the visa itself, so read what your own visa says.

Other passports for India

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on 31 August 2026.

Government of India, Indian Visa Online e-Visa portal, list of nationalities eligible for the e-Visa: 174 numbered entries. Tunisia does not appear; the list runs from entry 160 "Trinidad & Tobago" to entry 161 "Turks & Caicos Island". Read 2026-08-31. https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html
Same portal, FAQ Q25: "The Visa on Arrival facility is only for the nationals of Japan, South Korea and UAE (only for such UAE nationals who had earlier obtained e-Visa or regular/paper visa for India). For the nationals of all other countries eligible for e-Visa, the e-visa application have to be filled online and the applicant must wait till the confirmation/Grant of ETA for travelling to India." Read 2026-08-31.
Same portal, "Authorized Immigration Checkposts" schedule: e-Visa holders may enter through 36 designated international airports, twelve land ports and 38 seaports, the seaport line headed as being for cruise tourists. These are conditions of the e-Visa scheme rather than general Indian entry rules. Read 2026-08-31.
Same portal, advisory to applicants to beware of intermediaries and travel agents charging for the process. Read 2026-08-31.

Entry rules change without notice and the official source is always the authority. Confirm with the embassy or immigration portal before you book.

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