The Indian government has increased the visa fee by up to 50% across categories. The increase in the short-term employment visa comes in the wake of countries such as Australia, the US and New Zealand either planning or having already put restrictions on work visas.
The government had recently increased the fee in different categories for the US, the UK, Canada, Israel, Iran and UAE nationals.
Though the numbers of foreign nationals working in India are few, the hike is being seen as a tit-for-tat action.
As per a government notification, a tourist visa up to one year will now cost $153 from the earlier $100. The tourist visa for over a year and up to five years will cost $306 instead of $120.
For instance, the UK Nationals, who used to cough up $162 for a tourist visa up to a year, will now pay $248. And for a five-year tourist visa, they will pay $741 instead of $484.
For the employment visa, nationals from Canada, Ireland, France, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand will now pay $459 instead of $300 for a visa spanning over a year and up to five years.
When it comes to short-term working visa, Israelis continue to cough up the most. They will now pay $ 1, 714 instead of $1,120. The fee for Pakistan nationals across categories has been increased from ?15 to ?100.
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