January 9, 2026 · 2 min read
An e-visa is approved online before you travel and usually arrives as a PDF you print or show on your phone at immigration. It’s the fastest of the three to arrange, typically 1-5 working days, but it still needs to be sorted before departure — it is not the same as visa-free entry.
Visa on arrival means exactly that: you apply and pay at the airport or border on landing, usually at a dedicated counter. It’s convenient in that there’s nothing to arrange in advance, but it also means queues, cash-only payment in some countries, and zero flexibility if you’re missing a required document like a return ticket printout.
A sticker visa (also called a regular or embassy visa) is the slowest and most document-heavy: an in-person or courier application to an embassy or visa centre, often with an interview, and processing times that run from one to several weeks. Countries that don’t offer e-visas or arrival visas to Indian passport holders — much of Europe, the US, the UK, Canada — require this route.
The practical rule: check the visa type for your destination before you lock in travel dates, not after. Sticker visas in particular need enough runway that an appointment delay or a request for additional documents doesn’t put your departure date at risk.
Processing times listed anywhere, including on this site, are typical ranges, not guarantees — embassy backlogs and peak-season demand can extend them. Building in a buffer of at least a week beyond the stated processing time is a reasonable default for anything visa-related.
