Planning a Tour Abroad? Visa procedures are Not as Cumbersome as Made Out to Be!

Today’s article is a bit different – it is for people who want to go for vacations abroad, but don’t dare to do it just because most of them think, there are too many hassles involved in travelling (like visa, paperwork etc.).

However, the reality is that except for small number of countries (like U.S & U.K), it is just like going from one state to another in India. Many countries consider India as a more developed nation than theirs and allow Indians to visit their nations without the hassles of too much paper work in visa processing.

Let me explain the procedure to you in simple language – I will divide the requirements into three categories:

1. Visa not at all required in visiting some countries.
2. Visa is required but no procedure, just fly there and you get visa on arrival at immigration desk.
3. Visa is required to be taken prior to booking of a ticket.

Just because some country is allowing us, we don’t flock to that country. If you are travelling with tourism perspective, check if the destination country has any places of interest to you; if you a business visitor – check what economic opportunities await you there. Also keep a tab on your budget dynamics.

First category: Visa not at all required

The first category countries treat Indians at par with citizens of the USA, UK or any wealthy country. We just have to fly there or cross over the boundaries to reach there, simply holding our passport. We get in! It’s that simple. However we need to evaluate the requirement. The first country that comes to mind is Nepal. You can go there for tourism, business or visiting relative or any other reason. Or you can choose modern Hong Kong which do not require visa to stay for 14 days.

Second category: Visa is required but will be issued on arrival

The countries that come under this category have a system whereby they issue visa to every one (probably for their statistical record purposes), but they don’t harass you. You don’t have to visit their embassies in India. Just take your passport, buy a ticket, fly there and the immigration desk at airport will issue you a visa on arrival. No questions asked!! (Of course, they do ask you what the purpose of your visit is. Just say tourism!).

The most famous (rather infamous) example is Thailand. You get a 14 day visa on arrival. Just imagine visiting the infamous Sukhumvit area in Bangkok, the once again infamous walking street of Pattaya or the world famous flower capital of the world Chiang Mai, Thailand.

You can as well simply think about visiting one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ – Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Or want to visit World famous African Safari in Savanna – Tanzania or Mozambique? Just arrive and get visa!! We are Indians after all, Not some poor other nationals :) !!

Third category: You need to get visa before you start.

You have to approach the Embassy in India, fill form, attach required documents, apply and get visa in a day to a week. Singapore and Malaysia are some of the examples.

In all, around 60 countries (out of the total 200 countries) fall in the first two categories. So, dear fellow Indians!! Don’t limit yourselves to homes. Now with the development of the country, you have disposable incomes, visit the places God has created for us, enjoy the beauty and praise the God for giving us so much.

The point I am trying to make by this posting is that travel always does not have to mean expensive countries (like Europe or the US). You can find some real gems of places going unnoticed in many places. Just do a little search on net and you will be surprised to find that with very little budget, you can bring smiles to your family or some times alone as well ;)

I have tried to put across the point that it’s not cumbersome to travel abroad.

I have not listed all the countries that fall in the above (hassle-free) categories. But, I would like to request our readers, who might have visited such countries that fall under the above 3 categories, to come forward and share their valuable experiences with us.