Recently, a great piece of news had come in the travel overeas front. Now, you would not need a visa to travel to many more countries. You must have taken every advantage of visa on arrival to Thailand, but now there are 16 new countries added to the list, and it has your favourite Maldives too! Yes, you heard it right. And while we rejoice this move, there is a slight distraction in the same. Now Indian passport holders can only travel to fewer than 30 countries around the world without a prior visa. Indians could travel to 60 destinations without a visa during the pre-COVID days. This is due to the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent restrictions on global mobility.
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha informed that a total of 16 countries including Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Mauritius would provide visa-free entry to Indian passport holders. As per the recent information, here are all the countries that will give visa-free entries.
Also read: Indians Can Fly To UK, US, UAE And France With New And Relaxed Visa Guidelines
List Of Countries That Will Provide Visa-Free Entries To Indians
- Barbados
- Bhutan
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Haiti
- Hong Kong SAR
- Maldives
- Mauritius
- Montserrat
- Nepal
- Niue Island
- Samoa
- Senegal
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Serbia
43 Countries Provide Visa On Arrival To Indian Passport Holders
The government pointed out that 43 countries provide visa-on-arrival facility and to Indian ordinary passport holders and 36 nations provide e-visa facilities. Iran, Indonesia and Myanmar are among the countries that offer visa-on-arrival facility. Sri Lanka, Malaysia and New Zealand belong to the group of 26 countries that have e-visa facility. To ease international travel, the government has been making tremendous efforts to up the number of countries that provide visa-free travel, e-visa facility and access on arrival to Indians.
While the issuance of a visa and any conduction of visa-related process is the unilateral and sovereign decision of the respective countries, the matter regarding more accessible visa policy for Indian nationals is taken up regularly in a bilateral meeting with foreign countries. Top 10 Countries That Provide Visa On Arrival For Indian Passport Holders.
US To Make Issuance Of H-1B Visa Tough
Meanwhile, the Donald Trump administration is going to make it challenging for US firms to hire foreigners on H-1B non-immigrant short-term visas. The US is all set to limit the definition of ‘speciality’ occupation and raising minimum wages for employees. Both these measures would ensure that Americans are not displaced or denied employment because of migrant workers available at cheaper rates. Here’s How Travel To The US Will Be Affected After H1-B Visa Revisions.
With the relaxed visa rules, where are you planning your next trip? Let us know in the comments.