India🇮🇳

Not to obtain a tourist visa or to enter. India's official eVisa portal sets out the conditions: a passport with at least six months of validity when you apply, at least two blank pages, a return or onward ticket and enough money for your stay. Insurance is not on the list.

Entry points to know about:

• Most visitors need a visa. The eVisa is applied for online. The portal lists tourist options of 30 days, one year and five years, with stay limits on each visit.
• An e-Arrival card can be completed online within 72 hours before arrival, according to the same portal. It is an arrival form, not a visa.
• Land borders. The US State Department notes that electronic visas are not accepted for land crossings into India.
• Yellow fever. Anyone arriving within six days of leaving a yellow fever country must carry a valid vaccination certificate or may be quarantined, the portal says.

The State Department's advisory for India says it highly recommends buying insurance before you travel and checking evacuation assistance and medical cover. You can compare travel medical plans on Ombrela for your dates.

The range is wider than in almost any other major destination.

In Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, large private hospital groups such as Apollo, Fortis and Max run facilities that treat many international patients, with English speaking doctors. The US Embassy and its consulates publish lists of doctors and hospitals for each consular district. The embassy does not endorse those providers, and suggests having a companion with you in hospital if you cannot monitor your own care.

In smaller towns, rural areas and the mountains, facilities can be basic. CDC notes that trauma care centers are uncommon outside urban areas. A serious accident on a rural highway or a trekking route may mean a long transfer to a city hospital.

On payment:

• Private hospitals generally ask for a deposit or card on admission and for payment before discharge.
• Costs are often lower than in the United States, but intensive care, surgery or an air ambulance add up quickly.
• Medicare usually does not cover care outside the United States, according to medicare.gov, and most domestic health plans are not accepted.

For a sense of scale, use the medical cost estimator.

Food and water illness. Stomach infections are the most common problem for visitors. CDC recommends hepatitis A and typhoid vaccines for most travelers and careful food and water habits.

Illness spread by mosquitoes. CDC states that malaria transmission occurs throughout India, including Mumbai and New Delhi, except above 2,000 meters, and lists preventive medicines to discuss with a clinician. Dengue and chikungunya are also present and peak around the monsoon.

Rabies. Stray dogs and monkeys are common. CDC suggests vaccination before travel for people at higher risk of exposure and urges immediate medical attention after any bite. CDC has also flagged a report of counterfeit rabies vaccine in circulation, a reason to seek treatment at a reputable hospital.

Roads. Traffic is dense and driving standards vary. Hiring a car with a driver is common. Night travel on highways adds risk.

Air quality. Pollution in northern cities, Delhi in particular, is typically at its worst in the cooler months. Travelers with asthma or heart or lung disease should plan for it and carry their medication.

Altitude. Leh in Ladakh sits above 3,000 meters, and flying in gives your body no time to adapt. Rest on arrival and learn the signs of altitude illness.

Security. The State Department's Level 2 advisory, reissued in June 2025, rates Jammu and Kashmir (except eastern Ladakh and Leh), the border with Pakistan, parts of central and east India and Manipur as Do Not Travel. It also tells travelers not to bring a satellite phone or GPS device. Many insurance policies limit cover in areas under a government warning, so read the wording.

The southwest monsoon usually reaches Kerala around the start of June and covers most of the country within weeks, then withdraws from about September. Tamil Nadu and the southeast coast get much of their rain later, from the northeast monsoon in roughly October to December.

Cyclones form in both the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. They are most likely before the monsoon, in about April to June, and after it, in about October to December. The east coast, including Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, is the most exposed.

Monsoon rain floods city streets, closes mountain roads through landslides and delays flights and trains. It also raises the number of dengue and malaria cases and makes water contamination more likely.

Travel medical insurance responds to the medical side of this: treatment, hospital care and evacuation if needed. It is not designed to refund disrupted bookings. Some plans Ombrela lists include limited trip interruption benefits, with conditions.

• Emergency medical evacuation. This is the benefit that matters most if you leave the big cities. CDC advises travelers to India to consider medical evacuation insurance. Most international plans in Ombrela's catalog list evacuation benefits up to 1,000,000 US dollars, and one lists up to 500,000. Our guide to evacuation cover explains how a transfer is approved.
• A medical maximum that would cover intensive care in a private city hospital.
• Trekking and altitude. If you are heading to Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand or Sikkim, check altitude limits and whether trekking is covered as standard or needs a rider.
• Acute onset of preexisting conditions. Especially relevant for older travelers and for people of Indian origin making long family visits. Age limits apply and benefits differ sharply between plans.
• Outpatient and prescription benefits, since stomach and respiratory infections are the most likely claims.

None of the international plans in Ombrela's catalog lists India as a restricted destination. They include Atlas International, Patriot International Lite, Patriot Platinum International and Safe Travels International. Note that some plans are not sold to people who are residents of the destination country, so check eligibility if you hold an Indian address. Compare plans on Ombrela, and see the glossary for unfamiliar terms. Stopping in the Gulf on the way? Read our UAE guide.

• Emergency numbers. 112 is India's single emergency number. The US Embassy advises dialing 102 for an ambulance, and 108 is used in many states. Response times vary, and in cities a taxi or hotel car to the nearest large private hospital is sometimes faster.
• Choose the hospital with care. Use the US Embassy's lists for your consular district or ask your insurer's assistance team which facility to use.
• Call the assistance number on your ID card before any admission, surgery or evacuation. The insurer may be able to arrange a guarantee of payment with the hospital.
• If you pay yourself, keep itemised bills, receipts, prescriptions, test results and the discharge summary. Ask for them in English, which large hospitals provide as a matter of course.
• After an animal bite, go to a reputable hospital the same day and tell your insurer.

For the paperwork side, our guide to direct billing explains when the insurer pays the hospital and when you claim back.