Who can accompany the patient, and what visa do they need?

The medical visa (MV) is for the patient; the person accompanying them needs a separate medical attendant visa (MX). They are two applications.

The most important and most easily missed condition concerns the appointment letter. The document says the Indian hospital's letter must carry the name and passport details of both the applicant and the attendant, along with the appointment date and the doctor. A letter naming only the patient is not enough.

Say this explicitly when you request the letter, and send the companion's passport details along with it. Getting a letter corrected after the fact costs days, and the appointment date does not wait.

For official passport holders too, the document advises taking both MV and MX — the word it uses is “advisable”, so this is guidance rather than an obligation.