India will extend visa-on-arrival to tourists
of all nations barring eight, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Iran, as
it looks to boost tourism, Planning Minister Rajeev Shukla said on Wednesday. India
currently offers visa-on-arrival to tourists from 11 countries like Finland,
the Philippines, Singapore and Japan. This facility is now being extended to
180 countries. The only exception to this rule will be nationals from Pakistan,
Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Somalia, he said without
giving reasons. Following a high-level meeting with representatives from
various ministries, he said the electronic visa would be valid for 30 days from
the date of the tourist's arrival in India. "The facility will provide a
major boost to the country's tourism sector. This is historic," Shukla
said. A separate website would be set up for extending the facility to
foreigners intending to visit India as tourists. To get visa, they would need
to apply in the designated website along the required fees. They would be granted
an electronic version of the visa within three days. "Visa-on-arrival can
be availed in all 26 major domestic airports from where international flights
ply," he said.
