India visa application form: previous trip visa number

Hey fellow travelers! 🙂 I'm planning a trip to India in January 2025 for 3 months. This will be my second trip to India. The first time was in 2009, when I was just 21 (doesn’t make me feel any younger!). My issue is this: on the India visa application form, I’m asked if I’ve been to India before, and if so, to provide the visa number from that trip. The problem is, since 2009, I’ve changed passports (and no longer have the old one), so I can’t fill out the form correctly. I thought about answering "no" to the question ("Have you been to India before?"), but that stresses me out because I hate "cheating" or lying. Especially since I figure they might cross-check their databases, and it could seem odd that I answered "no" when I’ve actually been there before. Maybe my visa could even be denied. So, I’d love to know if any of you have been in this situation and how you handled it. Looking forward to your replies! 🙂

Hi,

I had the same issue, but I can’t remember if I wrote "no" or if I was able to enter something like "expired passport" instead of the visa number. I think I put "no," but I’m not sure... Either way, I had no problem getting the ETA. If you're unsure, contact Indian Visa Online—they’ll tell you what to do.

Thanks for your reply! 🙂 I’ll copy-paste their response—it might help other travelers. 😛

I’ve been to India six times. I don’t think I put the previous visa number after the second trip, and everything’s been fine.