# Do you need a visa for a Mumbai layover?

Between two international flights on one booking, you stay inside Terminal 2 and Mumbai asks no visa of you. Stepping out to Juhu Beach or the Gateway of India is another matter: for a US, UK, EU, Canadian or Australian passport it means an Indian e-Visa, approved before you board your first flight.

- Web page: https://mumbailayover.com/visa-and-transit/
- Guide: [Mumbai Layover](https://mumbailayover.com/), an independent layover guide to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM), part of City Layover
- Updated 10 November 2026; facts checked 8 November 2026

## Short answer

Staying inside Terminal 2 between two international flights on one booking, you need no Indian visa. To go into Mumbai, a US, UK, EU, Canadian or Australian passport needs the e-Visa, which you apply for online no later than 4 days before landing; approval can take 72 hours or more, and the 30-day version is US$25 for most nationalities. Mumbai airport also grants visas on arrival, for ₹2,000, but only to Japanese and South Korean passports and some UAE ones. Indian citizens need no visa. Anyone else who goes through immigration completes the free e-Arrival card first.

## At a glance

- **Changing planes**: International to international on one booking: no Indian visa
- **e-Visa fee**: 30 days: US$25 July to March, US$10 April to June, plus 3%
- **Apply by**: 4 days before landing; approval can take 72 hours or more
- **Visa on arrival at BOM**: ₹2,000; Japan, South Korea and some UAE passports only
- **e-Arrival card**: Free, online within 72 hours of landing
- **Passport**: Valid 6 months after arrival, with 2 empty pages

## If you stay airside

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) handles every international flight in Terminal 2, so a connection between two international flights on one booking never leaves that building. Your airline takes you from the arrival gate to the transit area for your next flight, your bags are tagged through to your final stop, and you don't meet an immigration officer, so you need no Indian visa on any passport.

- **Sleeping between flights.** Niranta's airside rooms, next to the duty-free food court, are for exactly this passenger: international to international, no Indian visa. They're sold by the hour or overnight and booked only on Niranta's own website. More on the rooms and lounges: [at the airport](https://mumbailayover.com/airport/).
- **How long you can stay.** Mumbai airport doesn't publish a time limit for the transit area.
- **Flying on within India?** That makes Mumbai your point of entry. You go through immigration and customs in Terminal 2 first, so you need a visa, and some domestic flights then leave from Terminal 1, a free airport coach ride away.

## If you want to leave the airport

Mumbai is one of six Indian airports that grant visas on arrival, but only to three nationalities. Everyone else who wants to see Juhu Beach or the Gateway of India arrives with a visa already approved, and for most travellers that's the e-Visa.

| Your passport | Before you fly | When you land at Mumbai |
| --- | --- | --- |
| US, UK, Canada, Australia | Get the e-Visa, 4 days ahead or more | Immigration desks with the e-Visa |
| EU and Schengen countries | Get the e-Visa, 4 days ahead or more | Immigration desks with the e-Visa |
| Japan, South Korea | Nothing, or the e-Visa if you prefer | Visa on arrival, ₹2,000 |
| UAE, if you've held an Indian visa before | Nothing | Visa on arrival, ₹2,000 |
| Indian | Nothing | Through as a citizen |
| OCI cardholder | Nothing | Your OCI card stands in for a visa |
| Pakistani, or of Pakistani origin | A regular visa from an Indian embassy or consulate | The e-Visa and visa on arrival aren't open to you |

Whatever your passport, if it isn't Indian, the free e-Arrival card is also due before you land (below).

### The e-Visa, for most passports

Apply on India's own government site, indianvisaonline.gov.in, for the e-Tourist visa. US, UK, Canadian, Australian and EU and Schengen passports are all eligible. Look-alike sites charge extra for the same form.

1. **Apply 4 days or more before you land**, and no more than 120 days ahead. India warns that approval can take 72 hours or more, so a week's margin is wiser. Nothing can be arranged at Mumbai airport once you're there.
2. **Pay the fee.** For most nationalities the 30-day visa is US$25 from July to March and US$10 from April to June, with a 3% bank charge on top. Some countries pay a different amount, listed in the official fee table.
3. **Check your passport.** It needs 6 months of validity left after you arrive, and 2 empty pages.

The 30-day visa runs from your first arrival, allows more than one entry and can't be extended; 1-year and 5-year versions exist for longer plans. Mumbai is among the airports where you can arrive on it.

### Visa on arrival at Mumbai

Japanese and South Korean passport holders can get their visa at the airport, as can UAE nationals who have been issued an Indian e-Visa or paper visa before. The fee is ₹2,000 a person, children included, or the equivalent in foreign currency. The officer can grant a double-entry visa of up to 60 days, and your passport needs 6 months of validity. Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata are the other five airports that offer it.

### The e-Arrival card

Anyone going through immigration who isn't an Indian citizen fills in the e-Arrival card online, OCI cardholders included. It opens 72 hours before you land and is free, on indianvisaonline.gov.in, boi.gov.in or the Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app. It doesn't replace a visa. In the transit area between two international flights, you can skip it.

### A transit visa from an embassy

India also issues transit visas through its embassies, valid for one journey through the country and for entry within 15 days of issue. For a few hours in Mumbai, the e-Visa is less work: it's all online and lasts 30 days.

## If you're on separate tickets

Two bookings mean entering India. Air India says that on separate tickets you collect the boarding pass for your next flight and your bags in Mumbai, and can't go straight to the transit area. So you go through immigration and need a visa, usually the e-Visa, even if your plan was only to wait for your next flight. Counting on a transfer airside? Ask both airlines before you book.

## At the border in Terminal 2

Arrival immigration is in Terminal 2, and Mumbai publishes no queue times for it. Allow 90 minutes from landing to sitting on the Metro, our own figure: the desks, the baggage hall if your bags stop here, customs, and the walk to the station. No paid fast-track lane is advertised for foreign passports, so have your passport, visa and e-Arrival card ready for the desks.

Past customs you're landside, and three things are open to you with your visa:

- **The Metro.** Line 3 has its own station beside Terminal 2, reached by a covered footbridge from the terminal, with trains to Churchgate in about 45 minutes: [getting into the city](https://mumbailayover.com/getting-to-the-city/).
- **A rest first.** Niranta's landside rooms are below the arrivals hall, and the Aviserv lounge, open 24 hours with sleeping pods, is on Level 2 of arrivals. The airport doesn't say which side of immigration the lounge is on, so plan on needing your visa for it.
- **Left luggage**, on Level 1 of Terminal 2, east side, by the P4 ground transport area.

## Before you head into Mumbai

- Find out whether your bags are tagged through to your final destination. If not, collect them and leave them at left luggage before you go.
- Carry your passport and your onward boarding pass or e-ticket. Guards at the Terminal 2 entrance check your ticket and ID before they let you back in.
- Plan to be back at Terminal 2 90 minutes before departure. With a bag to drop or no boarding pass yet, make it earlier: Air India's international counters close 60 minutes before the flight. The ride back and its timings: [getting into the city](https://mumbailayover.com/getting-to-the-city/).

## Questions people ask

### Do I need a visa to change planes at Mumbai airport?

Not between two international flights on one booking. Your airline takes you straight to the transit area in Terminal 2 and your bags go through to your final stop, so you never reach immigration. A domestic onward flight, or a second booking, takes you through immigration, and then you need a visa.

### Do Indian passport holders need a visa for a Mumbai layover?

No. On an Indian passport you can stay airside or go into Mumbai with no visa at all. OCI cardholders use their OCI card in place of a visa, and fill in the free e-Arrival card before they land.

### Do US citizens need a visa to leave Mumbai airport on a layover?

Yes. Americans have no visa-free entry to India, so a trip into Mumbai needs the e-Visa, applied for online no later than 4 days before you land; approval can take 72 hours or more. The 30-day e-Tourist visa is US$25 for most nationalities. Staying in Terminal 2 between two international flights on one booking, you need nothing.

### Can I change planes at Mumbai airport on separate tickets?

Only by going through immigration, so you need an Indian visa even for a connection inside the airport. On two bookings you pick up your bags and your next boarding pass in Mumbai, and Air India says you can't go straight to the transit area. If you were hoping to stay airside, ask both airlines before you book.

### How long does an Indian e-Visa take, and what does it cost?

Allow at least 4 days, and more if you can: approval can take 72 hours or more, and you may apply up to 120 days ahead. The 30-day e-Tourist visa is US$25 for most nationalities from July to March, US$10 from April to June, with a 3% bank charge on top. Use only India's own site, indianvisaonline.gov.in.

### Can I get a visa on arrival at Mumbai airport?

Only on a Japanese or South Korean passport, or a UAE one if you've held an Indian visa before. It costs ₹2,000 and can give you up to 60 days with two entries. Every other passport needs its visa, usually the e-Visa, before the flight to Mumbai.

### Does the Navi Mumbai airport change a Mumbai layover?

Only if one of your flights uses it. Air India Express begins flying from Navi Mumbai (NMI) in December 2026 and shifts its Gulf routes there during 2027; IndiGo's Gulf, Dhaka and Jakarta flights follow from February 2027. Changing between Mumbai (BOM) and Navi Mumbai isn't a transit: you pass immigration, so you need an Indian visa. Check the airport code of both flights.

## Sources (checked 8 November 2026)

- [Government of India: e-Visa (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/)
- [Government of India: e-Tourist visa fees (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/images/Etourist_fee_final.pdf)
- [Government of India: visa on arrival (checked 9 Nov 2026)](https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/visa-on-arrival.html)
- [Government of India: e-Arrival card (checked 9 Nov 2026)](https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival/)
- [High Commission of India, London: transit visa (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.hcilondon.gov.in/page/transit-visa/)
- [UK Foreign Office: entry requirements for India (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/india/entry-requirements)
- [Mumbai airport: transit guide (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://csmia-mumbai.adaniairports.com/en/passenger-guide/transit-guide)
- [Mumbai airport: departure guide (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://csmia-mumbai.adaniairports.com/en/passenger-guide/departure-guide)
- [Mumbai airport: left luggage (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://csmia-mumbai.adaniairports.com/en/airport-services/left-luggage-facility)
- [Mumbai airport: transport, including the T1 to T2 coach (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://csmia-mumbai.adaniairports.com/en/airport-facilities/transport)
- [Air India: transfers, customs and baggage (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.airindia.com/in/en/travel-information/visa-documents/custom-immigration-baggage-transfer.html)
- [Air India: international check-in (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.airindia.com/in/en/experience/airport/international-checkin.html)
- [Niranta Airport Transit Hotel & Lounge: home page (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.nirantahotels.com/)
- [Adani Airports: IndiGo's move of international departures to Navi Mumbai (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://www.adani.com/newsroom/media-releases/indigo-and-adani-airports-announce-phased-expansion-of-international-flight-operations)
- [Air India Group: Air India Express transition to Navi Mumbai (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://www.airindia.com/in/en/newsroom/press-release/air-india-group-adani-airports-navi-mumbai-transition.html)
- [Mumbai airport: lounges and sleeping pods (checked 9 Nov 2026)](https://csmia-mumbai.adaniairports.com/en/airport-services/lounges)
- [MMRC: the footbridge from Terminal 2 to the Metro, trolleys allowed (checked 9 Nov 2026)](https://www.facebook.com/mmrcmumbai/posts/%EF%B8%8F-even-more-convenience-for-flyerstrolley-movement-is-now-allowed-along-the-dire/1162612052567453/)