As per the updated guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), those entering via land routes will not be issued visas.
This means that those travelling from India’s neighbouring countries, and countries that share land borders with India, will not be able to enter the country on a tourist visa for now. As per the updated guidelines, the visa will be of single-entry type and will have a maximum validity of 30 days for now.
As the land routes are not being considered for granting visas, tourists from neighbouring nations will have options to enter the country via air and sea routes. India shares land borders with a number of countries, including China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. The latest MHA guidelines also clarified that foreign tourists would now have to apply for a fresh tourist visa to visit the country, as the ones issued before were not used, or the existing visa will remain suspended.
Earlier, the government also announced that it will be granting free-tourist visas to the first five lakh applicants in a bid to boost tourism.
Since India is a popular long-haul destination, the latest move might prove to be a dampener for foreign tourists who were planning to visit the country.
However, because of the COVID-19 situation across the world, the government is taking cautious decisions to reopen the country gradually for inbound tourism.
