Before the world was rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, which has indefinitely closed nearly every international border on the planet, the number of tourists that India was allowing into the country on an annual basis was steadily climbing. In fact, there had been around a 10 percent increase in tourism each year over the past few years.
The expectation was that this jump in foreigners entering India would continue in 2020, but once the extent of the severity of the virus was understood, certain travel restrictions were put into place by the Indian government with the hopes that a quarantine procedure for travelers entering India would curb the spread of the deadly COVID-19 disease.
Suspension of Travel to India
Once it was decided that India would close its borders, tourism officials needed to craft a thorough plan with regards to the various types of visas that had already been issued to potential travelers. A portion of the Indian visa suspension was put into effect on February 2nd, 2020, and that suspension was later extended until the extent of the virus was understood.
As was the case when the original hold on visas was implemented, Indian tourist officials are still not issuing more visas to foreign nationals. This means that even if a traveler’s home country is allowing them to visit countries abroad, India is not accepting those visitors at this current juncture.
This suspension in service applies both to consulate visa applications (for those nationalities who are not eligible for India eVisas) and those citizens of countries who are eligible for an eVisa for India under normal circumstances.
For any traveler who already holds a validated visa of any kind, should that visa have been issued prior to June 30th, it is automatically invalidated until further notice.
Is Anyone Allowed to Enter India Right Now
First and foremost, any Indian national is allowed to reenter India at any time by taking a government-organized repatriation flight.
For non-Indian citizens, there are a few exceptions to be allowed to enter India, though it is important to note that none of these exceptions apply to general tourism. The majority of these exemptions apply to familiar relationships.
Children (minors) and spouses of Indian nationals or of overseas citizens of India (OICs) can gain permission to cross the border. Also, a single parent of an Indian national (minor) is eligible to be allowed an exemption.
Another case is if a traveler is transiting back to their home country and they must make a stopover in India. In that case, the traveler will not be allowed to leave a restricted area but they will be allowed to carry on to their connecting flight.
Are Travelers Entering India Subject to Quarantine?
Even though India is severely limiting the number of people who it is allowing into the country, government officials are still taking every precaution to ensure that those few people are not going to ignite further coronavirus breakouts. They have implemented a few restrictions on incoming passengers to do their best to be sure that they are responsibly caring for their citizens.
To that end, everyone who comes into India must undergo a medical screening process upon arrival. Whether the results of that process are positive or negative, each person must then complete a two-week-long quarantine before they are allowed to venture out into society.
Everyone is required to download an application onto their mobile phone, which keeps track of that person’s whereabouts and ensures that they are following the Indian quarantine procedure protocols. They must also sign a waiver guaranteeing that they will follow the rules.
When Might Travelers Be Allowed Back Into India?
The coronavirus has already proven to be unpredictable. As of the writing of this article, there have been a number of countries that have slowly reintegrated tourism back into the fold in an effort to normalize the situation and invigorate what in India’s case is an increasingly stagnant economy. Some of those countries have already had to reimplement restrictions on tourism while others are finding more success.
With that in mind, there is really no way of forecasting when a country, in this case, India, might be able to open its borders for unrestricted access to foreign tourism.
Each country’s government must decide what is right for its citizens based on the current data that they have, balancing economic forecasting with public safety and health regulations as they look to rebuild their travel industry.
Many travelers will want to grab their bag and hit the road as soon as borders open, whether there is a mandatory quarantine in place or not. Others will prefer not to spend their first two weeks holed up while sheltering in place. Each person will ultimately have to collect the most current available facts and make the best decision for themselves.