What this section is asking for
The Reference section appears on the Other Information page, below the SAARC questions, near the end of the form. It asks for two separate contacts:
- Reference Name in India, with address, State, District, and phone
- Reference Name in your home country, an emergency contact where you live, with address and phone
Every field carries a red asterisk. You cannot submit without completing all of them.
This is where many first-time applicants stall, because the form implies you need to know someone in India. You don't. In most cases your accommodation details are the right answer.
The two fields people don't expect: State and District
This is the part that catches people out, and almost no guide mentions it.
The India reference address is not a freeform text box. After the two address lines, you must select:
- State, from a dropdown of Indian states and union territories
- District, from a dropdown that populates only after you pick a state
Until both are selected, the form shows "Details required" in red beside each field.
What this means practically: you can't just paste a hotel address off a booking confirmation. You need to know which state and which district your accommodation sits in.
If you don't know the district, use the district your city belongs to. A hotel in Colaba is in Mumbai City district, Maharashtra. A guesthouse in Hauz Khas is in South Delhi district, Delhi. Search "[city name] district" if you're unsure. Every Indian address falls under one.
Phone number formatting rules
The portal enforces two validation rules that are easy to trip over:
- India reference phone: only numbers and the characters
()+-and spaces are accepted. No letters, no extensions. If your hotel's listing shows an extension, drop it and use the main line. - Home-country phone: minimum 6 digits required.
Both fields highlight in red until they pass validation.
Can you just enter "NA"?
The system will accept it and your application will submit. But an empty or placeholder reference is one of the details that draws scrutiny, and it raises your chances of a follow-up query or a rejection. There is almost always a legitimate answer you can give instead.
Don't use NA unless you genuinely have no accommodation, no host, and no destination planned, which is rare.
What to enter, by situation
Tourist with a hotel booking
Use your first hotel, the one matching your arrival city. If you're staying at multiple properties across your trip, you still enter one.
Pull the details from the hotel's Google Business listing rather than typing from memory:
- Name: exactly as listed on Google
- Address: full address across the two address lines
- State / District: the state and district that city sits in
- Phone: the landline shown on the listing, stripped of any extension
The Google listing is the safest source because it matches what a verifying officer would find if they looked it up.
Airbnb or homestay
Use the host's name and the property address from the Airbnb listing, plus a contact number. Message your host for the exact address and district. Airbnb hides the precise address until booking.
Staying with relatives or friends
Use the person you'll actually be staying with:
- Full name as on their ID
- Residential address, state, and district
- Working mobile number
This is the cleanest option when it applies, because the reference will match your address of stay elsewhere on the form.
Business visit
Use the Indian company you're visiting, and specifically the HR contact or your host at that company, not a generic front desk:
- Company name and registered or branch office address
- The state and district of that office
- HR or host's direct number
Keep this consistent with any invitation letter you upload.
Conference or event
Use the venue and the event's single point of contact:
- Conference venue name and address
- Organiser or SPOC name and phone
This should match the conference invitation letter, which e-Conference visa applicants must upload anyway.
Medical visit
Use the treating hospital: name, address, state, district, and the international patient desk number or treating doctor's contact. Match this to the hospital letter required for e-Medical visas.
Yoga, Ayurveda, or short course
Use the institute's name, address, and contact, the same institute named in your enrolment letter.
Group tour
Use the Indian ground handler, not your home-country travel agency. Your operator can supply the name, address, and district. Entering an overseas booking agent here is a common mistake.
Arriving by cruise
Use the cruise line's Indian port agent for your arrival port. Guest services can provide this. They handle it routinely. For state and district, use whichever the arrival port sits in.
Nothing booked yet
Very common if you're applying early. Two clean options:
- Book one refundable night at a hotel in your arrival city and use those details
- Use the property you intend to book, if you're confident about it
Either option is far better than leaving the field blank or entering NA.
The home-country reference
The second block is dynamically labelled to your nationality. A British applicant sees "Reference Name in UNITED KINGDOM." It's an emergency contact, not a sponsor or guarantor.
Use a parent, spouse, sibling, or close friend, with their home address and a working phone number (minimum 6 digits). It does not need to be someone travelling with you, and it should not be your own name and address.
Common mistakes
- Mismatched addresses. If your Reference Name is one hotel and your "address where you will stay in India" elsewhere on the form is a different property, that inconsistency can trigger a clarification email. Keep them aligned.
- Using your own name. The India reference must be a third party.
- Using a travel agent's details. Unless the agency is genuinely where you'll be staying, use the accommodation or host instead.
- Phone extensions or letters. Rejected by the validator. Numbers, brackets, plus, hyphen, and spaces only.
- Invented or unreachable details. The e-Visa team does email applicants for clarification. A fake hotel name or a dead number turns a routine application into a delayed one.
Quick reference
| Your situation | What to enter as Reference Name in India |
|---|---|
| Tourist, hotel booked | First hotel, name, address, and phone from Google Business listing |
| Airbnb or homestay | Host name, property address, and phone |
| Staying with relatives or friends | Their full name, address with PIN code, and mobile number |
| Business trip | Company name, office address, and HR or host contact |
| Conference or event | Venue name, address, and organiser SPOC name and phone |
| Medical treatment | Hospital name, address, and international patient desk contact |
| Yoga or short course | Institute name, address, and contact number |
| Group tour | Indian ground handler (not your overseas booking agency) |
| Arriving by cruise | Cruise line's Indian port agent for your arrival port |
| Nothing booked yet | Book one refundable night, or use the property you intend to stay at |
| Multiple cities | Use the first property you check into |
In every case, you still need to select the matching State and District from the dropdowns. The table shows what to use as the reference name and address; State and District must be selected separately.
Before you hit Save and Continue
- Reference Name in India is a real third party, not NA
- Address filled across both lines
- State selected from the dropdown
- District selected (populates after State)
- India phone contains only numbers, brackets, plus, hyphen, and spaces — no extensions
- Home-country reference name and address complete
- Home-country phone is at least 6 digits
If you need to stop, use Save and Temporarily Exit to preserve your progress. The form emails you a Temporary Application ID so you can resume later.
Form fields, labels, and validation rules on the official portal can change without notice. Always complete your application directly on indianvisaonline.gov.in, the only legitimate place to apply, and treat this guide as orientation rather than the final word on any specific field.