Immigration News - India COVID-19: Visitor travel to be allowed Share this article LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) October 11, 2021 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. Copyright © 2021 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.