Starting Wednesday, October 1, foreigners in India have the option to submit a 'digital arrival card' online instead of the paper card.
The government has decided to discontinue the physical disembarkation form, which foreigners must fill in on arrival in India, in a bid to 'smooth"' the immigration process and 'avoid delays' at airport-immigration counters, the ministry of home affairs has told aviation stakeholders.
With this move, India will join countries such as the United Kingdom, Singapore and Taiwan, which have scrapped this.
Starting Wednesday, October 1, foreigners in India have the option to submit a 'digital arrival card' online instead of the paper card, the MHA said. Business Standard has reviewed the MHA order dated September 22.
The physical disembarkation card provides the personal, travel and immigration information on a traveller such as the full name, passport number, nationality, flight details, the purpose of visit, the address in the country, and goods or the currency the person is carrying. The card is shown at the immigration counter before entry is granted.
In its order, the MHA stated: 'It has now been decided, with the approval of the competent authority, that the filling of disembarkation card for foreigners on their arrival in India will be done in both physical and digitised modes to avoid delays at immigration counters and to make the immigration process smoother.'
The home ministry clarified that the physical card would remain available only during a short transition period: 'The physical filling of the disembarkation card will continue till the system of digital filling of the card is stabilised, or up to a maximum of six months, whichever is earlier.'
Foreigners will be able to complete the digital card before departure.
'With this, the foreigners visiting India will have the option to fill the disembarkation card physically or online through the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) website (https://boi.gov.in), the Indian Visa website (https://indianvisaonline.gov.in) and also through the official 'Indian Visa Su-Swagatam' mobile app, 72 hours prior to their arrival,' the MHA added.
The ministry has asked authorities to promote awareness about the new system: 'BoI shall ensure wider publicity of this facility, in consultation with Indian Missions/Posts abroad.' Officials of the BoI man immigration counters at airports in India.
India has gradually reduced the use of physical cards relating to arrival and departure over the past decade.
The MHA order said: 'It was earlier made mandatory for Indians as well as foreigners to manually fill the disembarkation/embarkation (D/E) cards. Later on, D/E cards for Indians at arrival and embarkation cards for foreigners at departure were discontinued with effect from March 1, 2014, and the embarkation card for Indians at airport immigration check posts (ICPs) was also discontinued with effect from July 1, 2017.'
The new step completes the transition to digital documentation by targeting the last category still using the paper form -- foreigners arriving in India.
Global practice
India's move aligns with global trends. The UK in May 2019 abolished its 'landing cards' for non-European Union travellers, replacing them with digital border systems.
Singapore stopped using its paper disembarkation/embarkation card in March 2020, requiring visitors to file a digital SG Arrival Card online before travel.
Hong Kong ended the use of arrival cards in October last year, while Taiwan is preparing to make its arrival card fully digital in October.
Other Asian countries have followed a similar path: Thailand launched its Thailand Digital Arrival Card in May, South Korea introduced the e-Arrival Card in February, and Malaysia made its Malaysia Digital Arrival Card mandatory in January last year.
Ghana eliminated physical disembarkation/embarkation cards in March 2023.
The United States never had a universal paper 'arrival card' system for tourists. Instead, Form I-94 for non-immigrant visitors has transitioned to electronic processing.
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