(Representative image)

NEW DELHI: India will introduce a flexible e-tourist visa regime for over 160 countries based on tourist footfall, with higher fee for the peak season of July to March and a considerably lower fee during the lean period of April to June, officials have said.

The fee for e-visa with a validity of 30 days to five years ranges between $10 and $80.

However, there will be no visa fee for tourists from 14 Pacific Island nations belonging to Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) -- Fiji, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu -- and Myanamar, Argentina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa and Uruguay.

While tourists from all the countries to which India has extended e-visa facility will pay $10 for a 30-day e-visa in the lean season, they will have to pay $25 in the peak period.

Tourists from these nations will have to pay $40 for a one-year e-visa and $80 for one with five-year validity.

However, for Japan, Singapore and Sri Lanka one-year and five-year e-visa fee is $25.

At the inauguration of a meeting with state government representatives on tourism, Union tourism minister Prahlad Patel said on Tuesday the move was aimed at encouraging foreign tourists to visit India.

"India to offer 30-day e-tourist visa with $10 fee during lean period April to June and $25 fee during peak tourism period from July to March," he said.

Both the home ministry and the ministry of external affairs (MEA) have given approval to the flexible e-tourist visa regime.

