India visa extension and overstay

Extending an Indian tourist visa sounds like paperwork you can sort out once you are there. It is not. The e-Visa portal says an e-Visa is non-extendable and non-convertible, and the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) says the same of tourist visas and of the visa on arrival.

What does exist is a narrow emergency route. If you cannot leave before the visa runs out for a justifiable reason (you are in hospital, your flight is cancelled and there is no other), you apply for the appropriate visa service on the e-FRRO portal, indianfrro.gov.in, while the visa is still valid. If permission is not granted before it expires, you must leave India; staying on is treated as a wilful overstay.

So plan the trip around the visa you hold, and treat e-FRRO as a safety net, not a way to make a holiday longer.

Official position by visa type. "Conversion" means changing the visa category while in India.

BOI does not publish a closed list. The wording is that foreign nationals "unable to leave/exit India within the validity of their visa due to justifiable reasons" should apply for the appropriate service on e-FRRO, and only while they are in India.

Two situations come up most:

Illness or injury. For a short visit to a doctor or an outpatient clinic, nothing changes: BOI allows treatment on your primary visa. If you are admitted and the treatment will outlast your permitted stay, the route is a conversion to a Medical visa. MHA rules (2014) say the FRRO can do this for a tourist who falls ill after arrival, becomes unfit to travel and needs specialised treatment, on a medical certificate from a government or ICMR-recognised hospital; an accompanying person's visa can be converted to Medical Attendant at the same time.

A cancelled flight or a closed route. First try to rebook within your visa dates. If nothing departs in time, apply on e-FRRO before expiry and attach the airline's written confirmation of the cancellation.

Whatever the reason, the decision belongs to the FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office). Your embassy, a hotel or an agent cannot grant it.

e-FRRO is the Bureau of Immigration's online system for foreigners already in India. The exact list of uploads depends on the service you pick; check it on the portal.

Overstaying means remaining in India beyond the period your visa allows. Two things follow.

You need an exit permit. BOI: foreigners who overstay or violate visa conditions require an exit permit to leave, applied for on e-FRRO. Under the MHA delegation of powers (2014), the FRRO can regularise an overstay and grant exit when there is no local objection, no Look Out Circular and no court case, and after payment of the fee or penalty.

The law sets heavy maximums. The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 (section 23) makes staying beyond the visa period punishable with imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to ₹3 lakh (₹300,000), or both. BOI's penalties page describes fines from ₹10,000 to ₹3 lakh per offence and warns that violations affect future visas and entry. Under the Act, these offences can be compounded (settled by paying a sum set by the government) instead of prosecuted; the FRRO handles each case, but the legal ceiling is real.

Indian missions abroad put it bluntly: overstay is a serious violation of visa rules and may lead to refusal of visas in future.

MHA's list of supporting documents for FRRO services (2014). The portal shows the current list for your case.