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India to introduce new visa-on-arrival scheme
Posted On 15 Aug 2014
Buddhist monks and local villagers walk down the steps from Thiksay Monastery in Ladakh, India. Pic: AP.
THE Indian visa office in Kathmandu’s Thamel district has long held an allure for spur-of-the-moment travellers. Located on a cramped street flanked by open sewers and loitering rickshaw peddlers, it is one of Asia’s few Indian visa offices that issue all foreigners tourist visas on short notice. A haven amongst a regime drowned in fickle bureaucratic restraints, the queues of rugged backpackers crowding its doors is a common sight, but one that is soon to change.
In a triumph for Indian tourism, a new visa-on-arrival scheme will now see tourists from over 180 countries able to obtain tourist visas upon arrival in India. Expected to come into effect on October 1, this new liberalised visa regime will now open India up as a last minute getaway destination that places it on par with its Asian counterparts.
Current Visa SchemeIndian’s visa on arrival scheme initially came into effect for 11 countries in October 2013, which include New Zealand, Vietnam and Japan. However, for all other nationalities, the archaic visa regime has remained in place.
In the majority of countries, travellers are required to complete an online visa form and post their passport to their Indian Embassy along with photos and a pre-paid envelope for their documents to be returned. With the rare few exceptions, like Kathmandu’s visa office, this process must be carried out by travellers from their own countries with weeks and even months known to pass before passports turn up again in the post.
Visa-on-Arrival SchemeAs of October, nearly all nationalities can avail of the new visa scheme. Countries that India view as a security risk, however, which are Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Somalia, are excluded from this list of 180 countries.
Under the new scheme, which has been assisted by the implementation of the e-visa facility, the entire pre-departure process can be done online. Visitors only have to fill out an online form and pay the prescribed fee, after which they will receive an electronic version of the visa via email within three days. All that is left for travellers once they touchdown is to verify their identity and show their travel authorisation at the airport immigration facilities. Altogether there are 26 designated airports that can issue visas on arrival.
The price of visas fees is also expected to be reduced for short-term travellers in the near future. The one draw back of the visa-on-arrival scheme is that tourist visas will initially only be issued for 30 days. If visitors wish to extend beyond one month, they will have to get another visa from the embassy.
Agoda
A report says Burma will suspend its new policy of issuing tourists visas on arrival as the military-ruled country prepares for its first general election in 20 years. The Weekly Eleven news journal reported Tuesday that the visa-on-arrival policy began May 1 at Yangon International airport and the central Burma city of Mandalay. It quoted…>
What’s the easiest way to get a tourist visa for Burma? I’ve just returned from Burma (Myanmar) so can provide some up to date information on the situation. Latest news In May 2010 visa-on-arrival was introduced for arrivals in Yangon International Airport then suspended in September just four months later, just prior to the general election…>
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