You've got a 9-hour layover in Mumbai and spending it inside the terminal feels like a waste. It is. But everyone hits the same wall first: am I even allowed to leave the airport? For most travellers, yes, as long as you sort one piece of paperwork before you fly. Here's how that works.
The basic rule: leaving the terminal means clearing immigration
Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (code BOM) has an international transit area. Stay inside it, connecting from one international flight to another without passing through passport control, and you don't need an Indian visa. You also don't see the city.
The moment you want to step outside, you have to clear Indian immigration, and that requires a valid visa. There's no way around it, and no "I'll just pop out for a few hours" exception. The good news: for most nationalities, getting that visa is a 15-minute online form and a small fee.
The e-Tourist visa, the easy way in
India offers an e-Visa (an Electronic Travel Authorization, or ETA) to citizens of a long list of countries. For a layover, the e-Tourist visa is usually the simplest choice. You apply online, upload a photo and your passport page, pay by card, and an approval lands in your inbox. Print it, show it on arrival. No embassy visit, no sticker in your passport.
The e-Tourist visa comes in a few durations: a 30-day double-entry version, plus 1-year and 5-year multiple-entry versions. For a single layover, the 30-day option is all you need.
What it costs
The 30-day e-Tourist visa is typically around US$25, but the fee moves around by nationality and by season (India has run lower-fee windows in some months). There's also a small payment-processing charge on top. Don't trust a number you read in a forum, this page included: check the live fee on the official portal at the moment you apply.
How long it takes
The official guidance is to apply at least 4 days before you arrive. In practice approval often lands within 24–72 hours. It isn't guaranteed and it isn't instant, so treat it as a "do this a week before you fly" task, not an airport-day one.
| What | The practical version |
|---|---|
| Who needs it | Anyone leaving the BOM terminal who isn't an Indian/OCI passport holder |
| Easiest type | e-Tourist visa (30-day, double-entry) for a one-off layover |
| Typical cost | ≈ US$25 + small bank fee (verify on the portal) |
| Apply by | At least 4 days ahead; a week ahead is safer |
| You receive | An ETA by email. Print it and carry the printout |
| Official site | indianvisaonline.gov.in (the only site you should use) |
How to apply, step by step
- Go to the official portal: indianvisaonline.gov.in. Choose the e-Visa application and the e-Tourist category.
- Have ready: your passport (valid at least 6 months beyond arrival, with two blank pages), a recent passport-style photo (white background), and the passport bio page as a scan or clear photo.
- Fill in your travel details, including where you're staying or, for a layover, the airport/your plan. Pay the fee by card.
- Wait for the email approval (the ETA). Print it. Don't rely on showing it on a phone; a printout avoids any drama at the desk.
- Carry a copy of your onward ticket too. Immigration may ask to see that you're leaving.
What actually happens at immigration in Mumbai
People picture this part as stressful and it usually isn't. When you land at BOM, you follow signs through Terminal 2's long arrivals walkway toward immigration. At the desk you show your passport and your printed ETA. Officers take your fingerprints and a photo (biometrics are captured on arrival for e-Visa holders). They may ask where you're going and when you fly out, so keep your onward boarding details handy.
Once you're stamped in, you collect any checked bags, clear customs, and walk out into arrivals. From there, Mumbai is yours for the hours you've got. The one thing you can't predict is how long the immigration queue runs, which is the whole reason your time budget matters.
A few other things worth knowing
- Passport validity: six months beyond your arrival date, with blank pages. This trips people up more than the visa itself.
- Yellow fever: if you're arriving from (or recently transited) a country where yellow fever is a risk, carry your vaccination certificate. Most travellers from the US/UK/EU/AU won't need it, but check your routing.
- Airports covered: the e-Visa is accepted at designated entry airports, and Mumbai (BOM) is one of them. Confirm your specific arrival airport is on the current list when you apply.
- Keep the printout for departure: you may need to show your ETA again on the way out.
The bottom line
For the vast majority of travellers reading this: yes, you need a visa to leave Mumbai airport. The e-Tourist visa makes it a small, cheap, online task you do about a week before you fly. Sort that one thing, and a dead layover turns into the few hours you remember most from the whole trip.
When you request a Detour, we point you to the official visa steps for your nationality and make sure the timing lines up with your flights, so the paperwork never becomes the reason you stayed stuck in the terminal.