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Visa requirements for Indian citizens

Visa requirements for Indian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of India.

As of 2024, Indian citizens have visa-free or visa on arrival access to 62 countries and territories, ranking the Indian passport 81st in the world according to the Henley Passport Index.

As the index uses dense ranking, in certain cases, a rank is shared by multiple countries because these countries all have the same level of visa-free or visa-on-arrival access.

With visa-free entry to 32 countries and visa on arrival facility to 30 countries India is 69 out of 94 in Global Passport Power Rank.

Recent changes

Previous Years

Visa requirements map

Visa requirements

Dependent, disputed, or restricted territories

Unrecognized or partially recognized countries

Dependent and autonomous territories

Other territories

Australia. Ashmore and Cartier Islands – Special authorisation required.
Belarus. Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park – Visa not required for 3 days; must first obtain an electronic pass.
Belarus. Brest and Grodno – Visa not required for 10 days
Crimea – Visa issued by Russia is required.
China. Hainan – Visa on arrival for 15 days. Available at Haikou Meilan International Airport and Sanya Phoenix International Airport. Visa not required for 21 days for traveling as part of a tourist group (2 or more people)
China. Tibet Autonomous Region – Tibet Travel Permit required (10 US Dollars)
Colombia. San Andrés and Leticia – Visitors arriving at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport and Alfredo Vásquez Cobo International Airport must buy tourist cards on arrival.
Ecuador. Galápagos – Online pre-registration is required. Transit Control Card must also be obtained at the airport prior to departure.
Eritrea outside Asmara – To travel in the rest of the country, a Travel Permit for Foreigners is required (20 Eritrean nakfa).
Fiji. Lau Province – Special permission required.
Mount Athos – Special permit required (4 days: 25 euro for Orthodox visitors, 35 euro for non-Orthodox visitors, 18 euro for students). There is a visitors' quota: maximum 100 Orthodox and 10 non-Orthodox per day and women are not allowed.
Iran. Kish Island – Visa not required.
Kazakhstan. Closed cities – Special permission required for the town of Baikonur and surrounding areas in Kyzylorda Oblast, and the town of Gvardeyskiy near Almaty.
North Korea outside Pyongyang – Special permit required. People are not allowed to leave the capital city, tourists can only leave the capital with a governmental tourist guide (no independent moving).
Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak – Visa not required. These states have their own immigration authorities and passport is required to travel to them, however the same visa applies.
Maldives outside Malé – Permission required. Tourists are generally prohibited from visiting non-resort islands without the express permission of the Government of Maldives.
Pakistan – Kartarpur Corridor: No visa required, USD 20 permit required.
Russia – Several closed cities and regions in Russia require special authorization.
Mecca and Medina – Special access required. Non-Muslims and those following the Ahmadiyya religious movement are strictly prohibited from entry.
Jeju Island – Visa-free entry for 30 days for Indian citizens provided arriving directly at Jeju Island.
Sudan. Darfur – Separate travel permit is required.
Sudan outside Khartoum – All foreigners traveling more than 25 kilometers outside of Khartoum must obtain a travel permit.
Tajikistan. Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province – OIVR permit required (15+5 Tajikistani Somoni) and another special permit (free of charge) is required for Lake Sarez.
Turkmenistan. Closed cities – A special permit, issued prior to arrival by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is required if visiting the following places: Atamurat, Cheleken, Dashoguz, Serakhs and Serhetabat.
United States. Closed city of Mercury, Nevada, United States – Special authorization is required for entry into Mercury.
United States. United States Minor Outlying Islands – Special permits required for Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island.
Venezuela. Margarita Island – Visa not required. All visitors are fingerprinted.
Vietnam. Phú Quốc – Visa not required for 30 days.
Yemen outside Sana'a or Aden – Special permission needed for travel outside Sana'a or Aden.
UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus – Access Permit is required for travelling inside the zone, except Civil Use Areas.
Korean Demilitarized Zone – Restricted area.
UNDOF Zone and Ghajar – Restricted area.

Reciprocity

The Indian Government has not drafted any laws to mandate reciprocity in visa agreements with other countries. While a very small number of bilateral agreements have concluded with reciprocity for visa arrangements, a large number of visa relationships continue to be highly skewed to one side or the other.

In 2015, Iran revoked visa-on-arrival for Indian citizens after it was included as one of the eight countries in India's Prior Reference Category, which would be excluded from India's visa liberalisation plans for foreign tourists. The other countries on the list at the time were Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Nigeria and Sudan.

Full reciprocity

India has, by default, achieved full reciprocity in visa-free or e-Visa privileges with following countries or regions:

Bhutan (Freedom of Movement)
Nepal (Freedom of Movement)
Maldives (Visa not required, for 90 days)
Antigua and Barbuda (e-Visa required)
Ivory Coast (e-Visa required)
Gabon (e-Visa required)
Georgia (e-Visa required)
Kenya (e-Visa required)
Lesotho (e-Visa required)
Malaysia (e-Visa required)
Thailand (e-Visa/Visa on Arrival)
Myanmar (e-Visa required)
Zambia (e-Visa required)
Hong Kong (Electronic Authorization required)
Uzbekistan (e-Visa required)
Vietnam (e-Visa required)
Russia (e-visa required)

Partial reciprocity

India has achieved partial reciprocity with following countries, where Indian Immigration rules afford the citizens of the following countries slightly lesser visa privileges than what the following countries provide for Indian Citizens:

Non-visa restrictions

Blank passport pages

Many countries require a minimum number of blank pages to be available in the passport being presented, typically one or two pages. Endorsement pages, which often appear after the visa pages, are not counted as being valid or available.

Vaccination

Many African countries, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, South Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia, require all incoming passengers older than nine months to one year to have a current International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, as does the South American territory of French Guiana.

Some other countries require vaccination only if the passenger is coming from an infected area or has visited one recently or has transited for 12 hours in those countries: Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Passport validity length

Very few countries, such as Paraguay, just require a valid passport on arrival.

However many countries and groupings now require only an identity card – especially from their neighbours. Other countries may have special bilateral arrangements that depart from the generality of their passport validity length policies to shorten the period of passport validity required for each other's citizens or even accept passports that have already expired (but not been cancelled).

Some countries, such as Japan, Ireland and the United Kingdom, require a passport valid throughout the period of the intended stay.

In the absence of specific bilateral agreements, countries requiring passports to be valid for at least 6 more months on arrival include Afghanistan, Algeria, Anguilla, Bahrain, Bhutan, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Curaçao, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

Countries requiring passports valid for at least 4 months on arrival include Micronesia and Zambia.

Countries requiring passports with a validity of at least 3 months beyond the date of intended departure include Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Honduras, Montenegro, Nauru, Moldova and New Zealand. Similarly, the EEA countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, all European Union countries (except Ireland) together with Switzerland also require 3 months validity beyond the date of the bearer's intended departure unless the bearer is an EEA or Swiss national.

Countries requiring passports valid for at least 3 months on arrival include Albania, North Macedonia, Panama, and Senegal.

Bermuda requires passports to be valid for at least 45 days upon entry.

Countries that require a passport validity of at least one month beyond the date of intended departure include Eritrea, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Macau, the Maldives and South Africa.

Criminal record

Some countries, including Australia, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand and the United States, routinely deny entry to non-citizens who have a criminal record while others impose restrictions depending on the type of conviction and the length of the sentence.

Persona non grata

The government of a country can declare a diplomat persona non grata, banning entry into that country. In non-diplomatic use, the authorities of a country may also declare a foreigner persona non grata permanently or temporarily, usually because of unlawful activity.

Israeli stamps

Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, and Yemen do not allow entry to people with passport stamps from Israel or whose passports have either a used or an unused Israeli visa, or where there is evidence of previous travel to Israel such as entry or exit stamps from neighbouring border posts in transit countries such as Jordan and Egypt.

To circumvent this Arab League boycott of Israel, the Israeli immigration services have now mostly ceased to stamp foreign nationals' passports on either entry to or exit from Israel (unless the entry is for some work-related purposes). Since 15 January 2013, Israel no longer stamps foreign passports at Ben Gurion Airport. Passports are still (as of 22 June 2017) stamped at Erez when passing into and out of Gaza.

Iran refuses admission to holders of passports containing an Israeli visa or stamp that is less than 12 months old.

Biometrics

Several countries mandate that all travellers, or all foreign travellers, be fingerprinted on arrival and will refuse admission to or even arrest travellers who refuse to comply. In some countries, such as the United States, this may apply even to transit passengers who merely wish to change planes rather than go landside.

Fingerprinting countries/regions include Afghanistan, Argentina, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Japan, Kenya (both fingerprints and a photo are taken), Malaysia upon entry and departure, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Many countries also require a photo be taken of people entering the country. The United States, which does not fully implement exit control formalities at its land frontiers (although long mandated by domestic legislation), intends to implement facial recognition for passengers departing from international airports to identify people who overstay their visa.

Together with fingerprint and face recognition, iris scanning is one of three biometric identification technologies internationally standardised since 2006 by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for use in e-passports and the United Arab Emirates conducts iris scanning on visitors who need to apply for a visa. The United States Department of Homeland Security has announced plans to greatly increase the biometric data it collects at US borders. In 2018, Singapore began trials of iris scanning at three land and maritime immigration checkpoints.

Visa Exemptions

(This section is under construction, please help update it.)

In some instances, a Visa Exemption permits entry in lieu of obtaining a Visa / Entry Visa if in possession of the following Visas or Permanent Relationships; this is not limited to entitlements or provisions laid down by the country's law. For example: Indian citizens holding valid US visa are permitted to enter Mexico on the basis of their US visa, without the need for a Mexican visa.

United States of America

Indian Citizens in possession of a valid United States Multiple Entry Visa in their passport may enter the following country(ies) visa-free: Albania, Argentina (Indian passport holders with a valid US B2 visa can avail an electronic travel authorization for the purposes of tourism), Bermuda, Bolivia, Bahamas, Belarus, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Montenegro, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Turkey (e-Visa), United Arab Emirates.

European Union

European Union Family Member - Indian Citizens who are traveling with or joining their EU family members in the European Union in a Country other than where their family member is a citizen of does not require a Visa to enter and enjoy the same entry rights and stay, however, this would be difficult to prove and as a result, entry could be refused.

Visa should be applied for in advance which is usually with no or minimal requirements to meet if the applicant is a family member of an EU Citizen. For instance, a person who wants to travel with their spouse to France where their spouse is a Citizen of the Republic of Lithuania should apply for a Schengen Visa in advance or where a person wants to join their Lithuanian spouse who resides in France should also apply for a Schengen Visa in order to prove their right and avoid misconception. In most cases, airlines will not permit travel without a visa.

There is no time limit a family member can stay (indefinite stay), they must just enter before the Visa expires if joining their family or traveling at the same time. There are no costs involved either. European Union citizens and their Indian family members will need to apply for settled or pre-settled status if they wish continue residing in the UK after 31 December 2020. Settled Status can be granted when the applicant has resided in the UK for 5 years and is valid indefinitely. In order to maintain settled status, people must visit the UK every 5 years. Pre-Settled status is granted when the applicant has resided in the UK for less than 5 years and is valid for 5 years.

In order to maintain pre-settled status, people must visit the UK every 2 years. However, applicants would have to meet continuous residence until they reach 5 years if they want to qualify for settled status after 31 December 2020. It will not be possible to be granted another pre-settled Visa.

Schengen Visa (Long Stay) - Holders of a Valid Long Stay Category D Visa who arrive in the Schengen European country of their Visa and apply for a Residence Card shortly after arriving will be able to use their EU residence permit / card for travel within the Schengen States, if granted.

GCC visa

Visa-free or Visa on Arrival to : Egypt, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Bahrain (GCC residents only, for Bahrain).

United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates now giving 1 month, 2 months and 3 months visit visas for Indian nationalities.

Foreign travel statistics

According to the statistics these are the numbers of Indian visitors to various countries in 2017 (unless otherwise noted)

Notes

References

External links

Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: Visa requirements for Indian citizens by Wikipedia (Historical)

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