COVID-19 India

COVID-19: Visitor travel to be allowed 

11 Oct 21

INDIA

IMPACT – MEDIUM

The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs recently announced that it would start approving tourist visas and allowing tourist travel.

Key Points:

  • For the purposes of group tourism, foreign nationals will be permitted to enter India, on tourist visas (when traveling on chartered flights) from Oct. 15, 2021.
  • All individual foreign tourists are to be permitted to enter India from Nov. 15, 2021.
  • Beginning Oct. 15, foreign nationals will be able to travel to India on tourist visas through chartered flights.
  • To enter India for tourism, whether it is consular processed or is an e-tourist visa, individuals must apply for a new tourist visa, and the visa should have been issued on or after Oct. 6, 2021.
  • All tourist visas issued before Oct. 6, 2021, are not valid for travel to India.
  • Indian consular posts are likely to grant tourist visas for single entry with a validity of 30 days.

Additional Information: Foreign nationals who are traveling to India are required to have a valid passport and a visa from an Indian Mission/Post or an eVisa from the Bureau of Immigration to enter the country. E-Business, e-Medical, e-Medical Attendant, e-Conference and e-Emergency X-Misc Visas have been available since the end of March 2021; e-visas for tourism have not been available. Individuals can apply for e-Visas on this website and are advised to review related-travel restrictions found here traveling to the country.

BAL Analysis: The re-opening of tourist visas is welcome news for many as they have not been available for more than a year. Employers and travelers are reminded that that travelers must obtain a business visa or e-Business Visa to conduct business activities while in India. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to develop, and BAL will provide additional updates as information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global practice. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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