On 16th March, India restored all the currently valid five year e-tourist visas given to citizens of 156 countries and regular paper visas to citizens of all countries which became effective immediately. The visas have been suspended for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials also stated that all currently valid long duration (10 years) regular tourist visas given to citizens of the US and Japan have been restored. New long duration (10 year) tourist visas will also be issued to the US and Japanese nationals.
The government has decided that the currently valid e-tourist visas issued for five years, which were suspended since March 2020, are now restored to the citizens of 156 countries, according to an official. Citizens of these 156 countries are also going to be eligible for issuance of new e-tourist visas in compliance with the Visa Manual, 2019.
Five year validity visas
Valid regular (paper) tourist visas with 5 years of validity used to be issued to foreign nationals of all countries but it had been suspended since March 2020, and now it will be restored. New regular (paper) tourist visas with validity of five years will also be issued to citizens of the eligible countries. Restrictions may be imposed from time to time, the official said.
Ten years validity visa
Currently valid long duration (10 years) regular tourist visa was suspended since March 2020, and is now restored for citizens of the USA and Japan. New long duration (10 year) tourist visas will also be issued to citizens of the USA and Japan.
How can foreign citizens enter India?
The foreign citizens on tourist and e-tourist visas will now be able to enter into India only through pre-decided Sea Immigration Check Posts (IPs) or Airport ICPs by flights, including those aircrafts under the ‘Vande Bharat Mission or ‘air bubble’ scheme or by any flights that have been allowed by the DGCA or Ministry of Civil Aviation. In no case, the foreign citizens be allowed to enter through land border or riverine routes on tourist visa or e-tourist visa.
The government instructions are not applicable to citizens of Afghanistan who will still be governed by the separate instructions issued by the Union Home Ministry regarding grant of -e-Emergency X-Misc visa, according to the official.