Coronavirus: India suspends tourist visas for a month
James ChappleIndia has suspended all tourist visas for a month to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Only diplomatic, official, employment and project visas will be exempt, said Indian authorities in travel advisory issued on Wednesday (11 March).
The restrictions will be enforced at port of departure from midday GMT on Friday (13 March) until 15 April, and will be reviewed again in a month.
Visa-free travel for Indian citizens living overseas has also been suspended until 15 April.
Exempt travellers arriving from, or having visited, China, Italy, Iran, South Korea, France, Spain or Germany at any time after 15 February could be quarantined upon arrival.
India is advising against all non-essential inbound and outbound travel. The country currently has 73 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
The Foreign Office updated its travel advice on Wednesday. “The government of India has announced it will suspend all existing visitor visas for India due to the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus.
“This change will come into effect from midday GMT 13 March 2020 to 15 April 2020 at the port of departure.”
Several operators have already amended their India programmes, including Intrepid Travel, which has cancelled all India departures from 14 March up to and including 30 April. It will review the situation on 1 April.
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