e-Arrival Card India for First-Time Travelers

I recently traveled from London to Mumbai on an Entry Visa.

The process was slightly different from what others described. The airline staff only checked my passport and visa, while the QR code wasn't requested until I reached immigration in India.

I kept my passport, visa, hotel booking, return ticket, and QR code together in one folder on my phone. That made it easy whenever an official requested something.

Based on what I've seen, procedures can vary between airlines and airports, so it's best to be prepared even if not every document is requested during check-in.

I flew from Melbourne to Chennai earlier this year as a first-time traveler.

The airline didn't ask about my QR code during check-in, but immigration requested it immediately after reviewing my passport. They scanned the code, asked a couple of routine questions about the purpose of my visit, and stamped my passport.

One thing I'd recommend is checking all the details on the e-Arrival Card before submitting it. A friend accidentally entered the wrong passport number and had to correct it before traveling.

From my experience, having your travel documents organized makes the arrival process much less stressful.

I traveled from Vancouver to Delhi in April 2026, and it was also my first visit to India.

At airline check-in, the staff asked for my passport and visa first. They also asked whether I had completed the e-Arrival Card and briefly checked the QR code on my phone. They didn't scan it, but they wanted to see the confirmation before issuing my boarding pass.

After landing in Delhi, the immigration officer scanned the QR code and then checked my passport and visa. The entire immigration process was quite smooth.

My suggestion is to keep both a digital and printed copy of the QR code. I also saved a screenshot because airport internet wasn't always reliable.