Persons on tourist visas barred; those allowed must follow Covid guidelines
India on Thursday further eased visa and travel restrictions imposed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) card holders and all other foreign nationals intending to visit India for any purpose, except on a tourist visa, have been permitted to enter by air or water routes through authorised airports and seaport immigration check posts.
This includes flights operated under Vande Bharat Mission, Air Transport Bubble arrangements or by any non scheduled commercial flights as allowed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
All such travelers will, however, have to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding quarantine and other health/Covid-19 matters, the Home Ministry said in a statement.
“Under this graded relaxation, the Government of India has also decided to restore with immediate effect all existing visas (except electronic visa, tourist visa). If the validity of such visas has expired, fresh visas of appropriate categories can be obtained from Indian Mission/Posts concerned. Foreign nationals intending to visit India for medical treatment can apply for a medical visa, including for their medical attendants.
“Therefore, this decision will enable foreign nationals to come to India for various purposes such as business, conferences, employment, studies, research, medical purposes, etc,” said the statement.
The Government had suspended all visas on March 11. However, in June, it allowed the entry of foreign minor children with at least one parent who is an Indian citizen or an OCI card holder, foreigners married to Indian citizens and single foreign parents whose children hold an Indian passport or an OCI card.
Incoming and outgoing air travel was restricted since February this year due to the pandemic. While scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23, the Government resumed scheduled domestic passenger flights on May 25.It had then allowed the airlines to operate a maximum of only 33 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights. But from June 26 onwards, the Civil Aviation Ministry increased the limits to 45 per cent.