Fresh visas for chartered flight tourists from Oct 15, for others from Nov 15

India will issue fresh tourist visas to foreign nationals coming to the country in chartered flights from October 15, the union home ministry said on Thursday.

Foreign tourists travelling to India by flights other than chartered aircraft will be able to do so from November 15, the ministry said in a release . All visas granted to foreign nationals were suspended last year due to the pandemic

The phrase 'other than chartered flights' means it would initially be tourist visa holders coming in on bubble flights, and later, as demand builds up, commercial flights would start operating and bringing in tourists.


All the tourists, the carriers bringing them to India, and all other stakeholders at landing stations will have to follow Covid-19 protocols.

The MHA said it had been receiving representations from several state governments as well as various stakeholders in the tourism sector to start tourist visas and allow tourists to come to the country.

"The MHA consulted all major stakeholders like the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Tourism and various state governments where foreign tourists are expected to arrive," the release said.

"With this, the restrictions placed on visa and international travel stand further eased given the present overall Covid-19 situation," it further said.