Start with the task that matters now. Each route takes you straight to the checked, practical detail.
Most international attendees come on an e-Tourist visa. You apply online, the decision usually arrives within 72 hours, and Mumbai airport accepts it. If you are travelling for work, the e-Business visa fits. Anyone outside the e-Visa scheme uses the regular visa.
IBW2026 is on 1 and 2 November 2026. The portal needs at least 4 days before you land and has no express route. Inside that window, ask your nearest Indian Mission about a regular visa, or email us and we will help where we can.
Start here
Type your passport country once. We will show the likely route and the current fee from the verified list below.
Most attendees
For most attendees. You are coming for the conference, the side events and the city, and leaving within 30 days.
Apply on the official portalThree routes. Most attendees take the first.
For most attendees. You are coming for the conference, the side events and the city, and leaving within 30 days.
For attendees travelling for work: meetings, partnerships, hiring, or a company that wants a business visa on file.
The same dropdown offers an e-Conference Visa. It needs clearance letters from two ministries that the organiser must file in advance. IBW has not filed them, so do not choose it.
If your passport is not in the e-Visa tables, you hold a diplomatic or official passport, you or a parent or grandparent were born in or lived in Pakistan, you have served in the armed forces or police, or you want a longer visa.
Confirm the route that applies to your passport before you prepare documents or pay.
175 passports can use the e-Visa.
Open to passports from 175 countries and territories, including the United States, the United Kingdom, every EU member state, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the Gulf states.
These go through the regular visa at an Indian Mission, even when the passport is on the list.
OCI cardholders travel on their foreign passport with the OCI card and need no visa. The e-Arrival Card still applies.
Nepal and Bhutan nationals do not need a visa for India.
For Japanese and South Korean passports, and UAE nationals who have held an Indian visa before.
Nationals of Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates can get a visa at Mumbai airport on landing. UAE nationals qualify only if they have held an Indian e-Visa or paper visa before.
Up to 60 days, double entry, for business, tourism, conferences and medical visits. The fee is ₹2,000 per person, paid at the counter. Fill in the Visa on Arrival form (Annexure I) before you land; airlines carry copies.
Not available on diplomatic or official passports, or to anyone of Pakistani origin.
Even if you qualify, the e-Visa is the smoother route: no form at the counter and no queue at the Visa on Arrival desk.
Official Visa on Arrival pageCheck the price, collect the files, then complete the official form in one sitting.
What most passports pay. The finder above gives your exact figure.
Fees are per passport and set by the Government of India. A 3% bank charge is added at payment, and the fee is not refunded if the visa is refused. Type your country into the finder above for your exact figure. Official tables: e-Tourist fees by country (PDF) and e-Business fees by country (PDF).
Have these to hand and the form takes one sitting.
Seven steps, 10 to 15 minutes at the portal, then the decision by email.
indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa is the only official site. No agent or intermediary is authorised, and the government charges no express or emergency fee. A site that charges extra for a faster decision is not the government.
Open the e-Visa portalPick e-Tourist Visa, 30 days, for a conference trip. Pick e-Business Visa if you are travelling for work.
Allow 10 to 15 minutes. You can save a partly filled form and return to it with the temporary application ID.
Two files for the e-Tourist visa, three for e-Business. The portal rejects files outside these limits, and everything must be in English.
Pay online by card or wallet. The fee is non-refundable, a 3% bank charge is added, and it must be paid at least 4 days before you fly or the application is not processed.
The decision usually arrives within 72 hours, sometimes faster, occasionally longer. If a file was unclear you get a re-upload request first, normally within 24 hours.
Within 72 hours before you land, every foreign national and OCI cardholder submits the e-Arrival Card online. It replaced the paper arrival form and is not a visa.
Open the e-Arrival CardKeep the final documents and arrival formalities together for the airport.
From 72 hours out to the immigration counter.
Optional. For the e-Business route, or when an employer or consulate asks for one.
You do not need a letter for the e-Tourist visa. If you are applying for the e-Business visa, your employer wants one for travel approval, or a consulate asks for one, request it here and we will send a signed PDF.
We ask for your name as it appears in your passport, your passport number and nationality, your company and role, your travel dates and visa type, and the email you bought your ticket with. Letters go out within 2 business days.
The form needs a Google account. If you cannot open it, email us the same details instead. A letter supports your application. It does not replace it, and it does not guarantee a visa.
Use the official helpdesk for visa decisions, or ask the IBW team about invitation letters.
Stuck anywhere, or unsure which route fits? Write to the IBW team and we will reply. For a problem with the portal itself or with a payment, use the government helpdesk.
The six we get asked most.
The e-Tourist visa, 30 days, for almost everyone. It is the fastest route, needs only a photo and a passport scan, and covers the conference and the side events. Pick the e-Business visa if you are travelling for work and want a year of validity, or your company needs a business visa on file.
Not for the e-Tourist visa. The portal asks for one only on the e-Business route, and even there it is optional. If your employer or a consulate wants one, request it on this page and we will send a signed PDF.
The portal needs at least 4 days between payment and your arrival, and most decisions arrive by email within 72 hours. There is no express option, so apply as soon as your dates are fixed.
Yes. The e-Visa is tied to your passport, not to where you are when you apply. Use the passport you will fly on and make sure it is valid for at least six months.
Apply for a regular visa through the Indian Mission or Visa Application Centre nearest you. Fill in the form at indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa, print and sign it, and submit it with your passport. Each Mission sets its own processing time, so start today, and email us if you need a supporting letter.
Have your printed ETA, your passport and your e-Arrival Card confirmation ready. Follow the signs to the e-Visa counters at Terminal 2, where your fingerprints and photo are taken, then collect your bags. The venue is about 10 minutes from the terminal by taxi.
The venue is about a kilometre from the international terminal. Here is what to expect when you land and how to reach your hotel.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport is the city airport, and Terminal 2 handles every international flight. Terminal 1, the old domestic terminal, is due to close on 25 October 2026 for rebuilding, so domestic arrivals during IBW also come into Terminal 2. Fairmont Mumbai is about a kilometre away.
Fairmont Mumbai is a 10-minute taxi ride from Terminal 2. The prepaid taxi counters are in the arrivals hall and charge a fixed fare. For Uber or Ola, book after you clear customs and follow the signs to the app-cab pickup zone.
Metro Line 3, the Aqua Line, has a station at each terminal and runs underground to BKC, Dadar, Worli, Churchgate and CSMT. Fares start at ₹10, and even the longest ride is under ₹100. Trains run from early morning until about 10:30pm.
Mumbai has non-stop flights from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Singapore, London, Frankfurt, New York and most major Asian and Gulf hubs. Air India, IndiGo, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa all fly in daily.
Four ways to cross the city, and when each one is the right call.
The default for most attendees. All three apps book cabs and autos across the city; download them and add a card before you land, and compare fares, because the cheapest changes by the hour. Expect surge pricing at rush hour and after side events, and allow for traffic: BKC is 20 to 30 minutes from the venue, Bandra 25 to 35, South Mumbai 60 to 75.
Fast, air-conditioned and cheap, with a growing network. Line 3 (Aqua) runs from the airport to BKC, Dadar, Worli and South Mumbai. Line 1 (Blue) crosses the suburbs from Versova to Ghatkopar through Andheri. Lines 2A and 7 run north through the western suburbs. Fares start at ₹10, and even the longest ride is under ₹100.
Metered three-wheelers for short hops in the suburbs, including the area around the venue. A short ride costs well under ₹100. They are not allowed south of Bandra and Sion, so they cannot take you into South Mumbai.
The city's backbone and the fastest way down to South Mumbai, but crowded and confusing on a first visit. The Western Line stops at Vile Parle and Andheri, near the venue, and runs to Bandra, Dadar and Churchgate. Avoid 8 to 11am and 5 to 9pm.
Written by the people organising IBW, most of whom live here.
Written and checked by the team organising IBW2026, and re-verified before the event. Visa rules, fees and the country list were checked on indianvisaonline.gov.in on 22 October 2026; airport, metro and transport facts on 22 October 2026. The Government of India sets visa rules and can change them; the portal and your Indian Mission are final. This page is general guidance, not legal advice.
Transport photographs are from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each one. The Uber, Ola, Rapido, Mumbai Metro and Mumbai airport marks belong to their owners and appear only to identify each service.
Last updated October 2026.
