In a major effort to streamline the immigration process from the Middle East the India Bureau of Immigration has launched the digital e-arrival card replacing the traditional paper arrival card. According to officials all non-Indian citizens must mandatorily complete the e-arrival card process before entering the country. The e-arrival system which is designed to facilitate faster immigration process at Indian airports came in to effect from October 1 2025. The system aims to streamline immigration cut processing times and boost Indias efforts to push digital-first services at airports officials said. Currently e-arrival system is available at Delhis Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport-- one of Indias busiest airports-- and there are plans to expand the facility to other major airports across the country in the coming future. What is e-arrival card? The e-arrival is designed to streamline immigration process at Indian airports by allowing incoming passengers to submit their arrival details online eliminating the need to fill up physical forms upon arrival. Passengers who are not Indian nationals are advised not to submit their arrival details 72 hours ahead of departure or 24 hours after it. Airline operators asked passengers to fill up e-arrival details before boarding to prevent longer processing times upon arrival. The e-arrival can be submitted via official government channels passengers will receive a confirmation email upon submission The form which is entirely paperless and does not require any document uploads can also be fill up online at immigration. How to fill up e-arrival card? Travelers can fill up their e-arrival details on the following websites/apps Official Bureau of Immigration portal (boi.gov.in) Indian Visa website (indianvisaonline.gov.in) Delhi Airport official website (newdelhiairport.in) Su-Swagatam App on Android and iOS devices. Passengers must fill up the following details in the e-arrival form: Full name nationality and passport number Flight number and travel details Purpose of travel Duration of stay Residential Address in India Contact number and email address List of countries visited in the last six days How e-arrival card will impact travelers? The e-arrival card facility will expedite immigration clearance and reduce long queues at airports providing a hassle-free immigration experience for travelers who visit India. To ensure faster clearance passengers must fill up the form in advance failing which they would have to manually submit the details upon arrival. Notably the e-arrival rule is not applicable to Indian passport holders or Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders as they already have have access to the Fast Track Immigration-Trusted Traveler Program (FTI-TTP) which was launched at Delhi Airport in June 2024.