The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has refreshed its India travel advice, recording that paper versions of the new e-Arrival Card are no longer accepted at Indian airports. The page—dated 10 May 2026—now directs British nationals to submit the electronic form online within 72 hours of departure and to carry the QR-code confirmation when they land.
For travellers who would like a little extra help navigating the new rules, VisaHQ’s step-by-step service (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can manage both the Indian visa application and the e-Arrival Card submission in one place, issuing reminders so that the required QR code is safely in hand before you reach the airport.
India introduced the e-Arrival Card for all foreign passengers on 1 April 2026. During the first month a hybrid system allowed airlines to carry a small stock of paper cards for travellers who were unaware of the change. That concession has quietly been withdrawn, and the latest FCDO notice confirms that only digital submissions are recognised. Travellers who fail to comply risk prolonged secondary screening at immigration counters or, in extreme cases, refusal of entry. The advisory also reiterates existing security warnings for areas along the India-Pakistan border and parts of Jammu & Kashmir and Manipur. Importantly for mobility teams, it provides a reminder that those caught up in travel disruption should contact the nearest Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) via the government’s e-FRRO portal—a channel that now handles most visa amendments and extensions online. Corporate travel managers are urging employees to build the e-Arrival Card into their pre-trip checklists alongside visas, vaccination certificates and travel insurance. Large UK-based consultancies with heavy traffic into India have begun pushing automated reminders through mobility platforms to ensure QR codes are generated before boarding passes are issued. While the e-Arrival Card is intended to speed up border processing, airlines reported longer-than-usual queues during the change-over period as passengers hurriedly filled in the form on arrival lounges using airport Wi-Fi. The FCDO update should reduce that friction by making the digital-only rule explicit for UK travellers.