NEW DELHI-
India’s visa-on-arrival scheme for tourists has been decided to been extended in a bid to boost tourism and business by the government.
The scheme will cater to tourists from 180 countries, with the exception of Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Somalia.
“We have decided to extend the visa-on-arrival facility to tourists from 180 nations. It will take five to six months for the respective departments to put the required infrastructure in place. We hope to implement this from the next tourist session beginning October,” Planning Minister Rajeev Shukla said.
Electronic visa-on-arrival would be available at 26 major airports in India and would be valid for 30 days from the date of the tourist’s arrival in India, he added.
The scheme has been planned to be implemented from October this year.
Currently, India offers visa-on-arrival to tourists from only 11 countries, including Finland, Singapore and Japan.
The government plans to set up a website enabling tourists to apply for the visa and pay the fee.
The visa would then be available for collection on arrival at any airport after three days.
