If you are not an Indian Citizen can you register on IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation)?

Yes, you can!

In fact the registration process on irctc and rules are exactly same to what it is for citizens of India, except couple of things (which foreigners/ overseas users/ NRIs have to keep in mind).

Recommended: Help for International Tourists.

Verification: If you are a new user you can always create new account. But if you are an old user of irctc, and not an Indian citizen, you need to update your mobile number through 'profile' section of your account, and verify it again.

Registration Fees: Unlike Indian citizens, when you register on irctc there is a one time fee you have to pay. You pay it when you do irctc login for the first time. Fee amount is INR 100.

irctc registration for foreigners/NRI


ISD-Mobile: During registration when you provide mobile number you have to enter ISD code other than (91). You have to enter ISD code of the country where you belong to.

Nationality: Again don't forget to choose appropriate nationality (other than Indian) when you are registering as a foreigner of non resident indian.

Foreign Tourist Quota: Non Indian tourists can take advantage of special quota known as foreign tourist quota to book railway tickets online using IRCTC eTicketing website ww.irctc.co.in. Available classes of travel under Foreign Tourist Quota are Executive Class (EC), 1st AC (1A) and 2nd AC (2A).

Convenience Fee: There is a Convenience fee of  INR 200 + GST per ticket booked in addition to Rail Ticket fare under Foreign Tourist Quota through IRCTC eTicketing website.

Advance Reservation Period: You can book your railway tickets 365 days in advance. Indian citizens on the other hand can do booking only 120 days in advance. As a foreigner, if booking is done when more than 120 days are left for the journey, your coach number and seat will be allotted at later stage. You will be notified about berth allocation by sms message on your phone.

Payment of Ticket Booking: IRCTC accepts international debit/ credit cards for payment.

Cancellation and Refunds: As a non resident indian when you cancel your confirm tickets


  • 50 percent of the fare amount is deducted and irctc cancellation charges are applied too before refund is issued. 
  • In case berth is not allotted because of non availability of seats, ticket will be cancelled automatically and Cancellation SMS / Email with details will be sent to the foreign user on registered mobile number / email id respectively.
  • Refund will be granted as per existing indian railway refund rules, and refund amount will be credited back to the same account which was used for ticket booking purpose.

Please provide correct details when you do registration. All the details will be verified before your account is activated.

Learn more about IRCTC  online ticket booking system here.

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