Travel info

01e-Arrival Card

This is the form that replaced the paper slip cabin crew used to hand out before landing. It is not a visa, it simply tells immigration who is arriving, and it is free.

You cannot do this early. The form only opens 72 hours before arrival. If you land on Sunday 20 September, that means from Thursday 17 September onwards.

Where. indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival, or the official Indian Visa Su-Swagatam app. Anything asking you for a fee is not the official site.

Your address in India. The form asks where you are staying. For everyone arriving on the 20th, that is:

Afterwards. You get a confirmation with a QR code. Save it to your phone, that is all you need at immigration.

If it did not work out, do not panic. Paper cards were abolished in April 2026, so there is nothing to fill in on the plane, but it can still be sorted on arrival in Delhi. You will get in either way. It just costs you an extra queue after a long flight.

02Health declaration

Last checked: 11 September 2026

India currently asks every arriving passenger for a short online health self-declaration, on the Air Suvidha portal. It came back in June 2026 as a precaution following a WHO alert. There is no outbreak in India, and the form takes a few minutes.

• Who. Everyone on the flight, Indian passports included.
• When. Any time in the 72 hours before you arrive in India. Filling it during web check-in, or at the airport before boarding, is the easiest moment. If you make a mistake, you can correct it up until your arrival.
• Where. airsuvidha.civilaviation.gov.in. It is free, so ignore any site that charges for it.
• Afterwards. You get an email confirmation. Keep it on your phone in case the health desk asks for it.

This is a temporary measure and may well be dropped again before September.

This form will also be passed out on your flight before you land. You do not need to fill it out again if you already filled it out online.

03eSIM

The wifi at Khas Bagh, the villas and the Delhi places is fine. Still worth having your own data while you're in India, for booking Ubers (see below), the group chat and for easy access to your e-Documents upon arrival.

• What we use. Saily. The 10 GB package at €21.49 is a solid base option for the trip. The code ALLARI4841 takes $5 off.
• Check your phone first. Saily has a list of supported devices. If your phone is on it, you are good. It also needs to be carrier-unlocked.
• One thing to know. A travel eSIM gives you data, not an Indian phone number. Your German number stays alongside it and still receives texts as normal, as long as you leave that line switched on.
• Give it time. Once you have landed and switched the eSIM on, the network connection can take up to half an hour to establish. Nothing has gone wrong, it just needs a while.

04Uber

Uber is what you will use once we are in Delhi, and for the airport and station runs at the end of the trip. The cars we book cover the drive from Delhi to Jaipur and back, and we'll share more details on those soon.

It's worth setting up at home, since making the account is the slow part.

• Set it up before you fly. A German Visa card or Mastercard works fine in the app.
• Starting the ride. The app shows a four-digit PIN. Tell it to the driver, and that is what starts the trip.
• Cash works too. If the card ever fails, you can pay cash at the fare the app shows. Drivers often have no change for a 500 rupee note, so keep smaller ones for this.
• When you will need it. On the evening of the 26th, from your Delhi accommodation to dinner. On the 27th, for outings during the day and to the reception at CSOI. On the 28th, from your accommodation either to the airport, or to Delhi Cantt railway station for the train up to Kasauli. And on 3 October, from Gurgaon railway station to dinner, and afterwards on to the airport.
• If you want to have a little fun. Uber Auto books you a tuk-tuk rather than a car.

05Credit Cards

Bring a Visa card or Mastercard. A German EC card (Girocard) will not work in India. Make sure you know its PIN, since you will need it at the ATM.

It's worth contacting your bank to let them know you are traveling to India in advance, so they enable your card for international use.

A card might be declined on the first purchase abroad, while the bank checks it is really you. German banks handle that through their banking app, which works over your eSIM data, so it is worth having the app set up and logged in before you leave.

Finally, having cash is handy in India, especially for smaller transactions. We've indicated the best way to get cash after arriving in the Good to know page.