If you wish to get admission for architecture courses in top IITs across India, then it is mandatory to take up Joint Entrance Exam. 

Every year, 10% of the seats in each course are reserved for international applicants. By appearing for JEE Main Paper 2 exam, you can get admission into the National Institute of Technologies (NIT’s), the Indian Institute of Information Technologies (IIIT’s), and Centrally Funded Technical Institutes (CFTI’s).

On average, every year around 150 international applicants appear for the JEE Main entrance exam in foreign centers.

In 2020, due to unexpected crises across the globe, there were restrictions on foreign travel and visa, due to which the exam was conducted only in India and not at any foreign centers.

You might be having a lot of queries regarding the eligibility criteria, the application process for International Applicants in JEE Main Paper 2 Exam. This post shall take you through detailed information about the exam and resolve all your queries. 

Let us begin with the eligibility criteria followed by the application process. The structure of the exam shall remain the same. 

JEE Main 2021 Eligibility Criteria

The table below shows the basic JEE Main Eligibility criteria for both National and International Applicants: -

Age limit	You must have born on or after October 1, 1995.
Number of Attempts	You can appear for JEE Main exam twice in consecutive years
Class 12	In the year 2019 or 2020, the international applicant must have appeared/graduated in either Class 12 or equivalent exam for the first time
Admission into B Tech/BE course	You must have secured at least 50% in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics
Admission into B. Arch Course	You must have secured at least 50% in 5 subjects. One of the subjects should be Mathematics

JEE Main 2021 Eligibility Criteria for NRI, OCI, Foreign Nationals

The table below shows the JEE Main 2021 eligibility criteria for NRI, OCI, and Foreign Nationals: -

Category of Candidates	Eligibility Criteria
NRI	The candidates who are appearing or have graduated from the 10+2 system or equivalent exam are eligible to apply for JEE Main examination. The candidates who are having 5 subjects in Class 12 or equivalent exams with language, physics, math papers, and any one of the Chemistries, Biotechnology, Biology, and Vocational Paper are eligible to apply. The candidates must have to secure 75% marks in the Class 12 or equivalent exam to be eligible to apply for the JEE Main examination. For SC and ST candidates, it is relaxed to 65% marks in Class 12.
OCI/PIO	The OCI/PIO candidates don’t come under the General Quota for admission. These candidates cannot avail reservations even though their parents belong to SC, ST, or OBC categories.
Foreign Nationals	There is an advantage for Foreign nationals students that they can directly appear for JEE Advanced exam instead of JEE Main for admission in IITs.

Qualifying Exams Considered for Internation Applicant Eligibility

Apart from the basic eligibility criteria, there are other qualifying exams considered for eligibility that are listed below:

• The final exam of the 10+2 system must be conducted by recognized central or state boards like Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi or Council for Indian School Certificate Exam, Delhi, etc.
• The final exam of Joint Services Wing, a 2-year course of National Defence Academy.
• Senior Secondary School Exam with 5 subjects conducted by NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling).
• 3-year duration Diploma recognized by AICTE or State Board of technical education.
• Higher Secondary Certificate Vocational Exam.
• Public school/Board/University exam recognized as equivalent to the 10+2 system by Association of Indian Universities (AIU) either in India or foreign.
• Advanced General Certificate of Education exam in either of the locations ie London, Cambridge, Sri Lanka.

JEE Main 2021 Application Process

The application process of JEE Main Paper 2 for Indian Nationals and International applicants is almost the same. There are few exceptions in the application form for international applicants that are mentioned below: -

• The Foreign Nationals/PIO/OCI/Nepal/Bhutan applicants don’t have to fill the column “Select the State, School/College/NIOS Study center” from where they have completed or are appearing for Class 12 exams.
• If the foreign national has passed Class 12 from outside India and doesn’t belong to the Foreign/PIO/OCI/Nepal/Bhutan category then the candidates have to fill the “Select State” as mentioned in the passport.
• The candidates belonging to Foreign/PIO/OCI/Nepal/Bhutan have to select “Other” against the field “Board Name”.
• The candidates have to mark the Nationality column as either OCL/PIO/Foreign or Other than PIO/OCI.
•  The candidates who come under the NRI category, are required to enter their Aadhar number. If the candidate has not received their Aadhar number yet, then they can enter the enrollment ID of Aadhar.

JEE Main 2021 Application Fee

The table below shows the application fee for the international applicants that they need to pay in order to apply for the exam. This registration fee is applicable for the candidates undertaking the exam in both Indian and International centers.

Candidates from SAARC countries	USD 75
Candidates from Non SAARC countries	USD 150

The international applicants should pay the application fee through only online mode via:

• Debit card
• Credit card
• Net banking

JEE Main 2021 Exam Centers (Outside India)

The JEE Main Exam shall be conducted in either online or offline mode. The mode of exam shall depend on the exam center chosen by applicants. 

As per the preferences filled in the JEE main application form the international applicants will get the JEE Main exam centers.

The table below shows the JEE Main 2021 exam centers list (outside India) and their Mode of Conducting the entrance examination: -

Foreign Center	Mode of Exam
Colombo	Online
Kathmandu	Online
Singapore	Online
Bahrain	Online/Offline
Dubai	Online/Offline
Muscat	Online/Offline
Riyadh	Online/Offline
Sharjah	Online/Offline

Documents Required by International Applicants

International applicants are requested to carry certain documents as identification proof while applying for admission into IITs of India. The documents required are as follows:

• Foreign Passport
• Citizenship Certificate
• Birth Certificate
• Student Visa for Undergraduate course (or) No Objection certification issued by Ministry of Human Resource Development
• Residential permit granted for studies in India or Student visa for the entire duration of the course

JEE Main Paper 2 Admit Card

After successful registration for the exam, you shall receive your JEE Main Paper 2 Admit Card on the prescribed date by the NTA. The International applicants must enter their login credentials on the NTA portal for downloading the soft copy of the admit card. You can later take a printout of the admit card for future reference. 

The admit card shall contain the examination details, exam center, date, and time of the examination. 

For Indian nationals and others belonging to NRI/OCI/PIO/Foreign nationals, the JEE Main exam will be held on the same day. Though the international applicants give the exam in a foreign center, they are required to report to the exam center as per Indian Standard Time only.