India announced 500 000 free visas for tourists

[Moses]

India announced 500 000 free visas for tourists for to revive tourism.

First five lakh foreign tourists will be issued visas free of cost in an attempt to revive the tourism, hospitality and aviation sectors badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020 when a nationwide lockdown was announced. A formal announcement allowing foreign tourists to visit India may come within the next 10 days, an official from the Home Ministry said.

The decision is being taken in view of the declining number of COVID-19 cases in the country. On Sunday, 30,773 new cases were reported while active cases had come down to 3.32 lakh. India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has also crossed 80 crore as on Saturday.

The free visa to the tourists will be issued till March 31, 2022 or the issuance of five lakh visa, whichever is earlier. The total financial implication for this would be Rs 100 crore. The free visa move is expected to incentivise short-term tourists visiting India, the official said.

The cost for a month-long e-tourist visa is country specific but is around USD 25. A year-long multiple entry e-tourists visa charge is around USD 40.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/12746061...ndia-soon.html

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[cdnmatt]

I'm on the first plane out. Can't wait for some authentic and delicious Indian curry with a side of Covid.

[goji]

India announced 500 000 free visas for tourists for to revive tourism.

Is anyone here going to be rushing to take up this offer then ?

I randomly selected Chennai and checked on Grindr and Planet Romeo. Not one of the lads looked interesting.

[vnman]

Is anyone here going to be rushing to take up this offer then ?

I randomly selected Chennai and checked on Grindr and Planet Romeo. Not one of the lads looked interesting.

I was in New Delhi in January 2020 and it was one of the worst holiday/short trip experiences that I have had. Cannot rememeber even seeing a cute guy, let alone doing one.

I think it was on Blued where they showed livestreams of guys. I would advice all of you to take a peak in that app. You will first see a photo and then when you click on it you would see the stream of the guy. Now go and compare that picture you first saw with the boy in the stream. LOL

[christianpfc]

Thanks for the information. India is on my list of places I want to go, albeit quite low, roughly in order of preference: Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, China (Mainland, Hongkong, Taiwan), Sri Lanka, India. However, under the current circumstances, India might just fit in perfectly in space and time next year in spring. And even if I can't take advantage of this, the opening of India with free visas is a good sign and hopefully others will follow.

[gerefan2]

. the opening of India with free visas is a good sign and hopefully others will follow.

. Thailand??!

[goji]

. Thailand??!

I paid £30 for the last Thai visa, plus £13.40 recorded delivery for the passports.

For a long holiday, this cost is irrelevant.

What I'd like to see as encouragement to visit Thailand is:

1 Visa free entry for a longer period of time, e.g. up to 6 months in any one year, with no pfaffing around. No visits to immigration etc.

2 If #1 is not possible, please do an e-visa so I don't have to post the passport. Thai immigration already have my passport details, photo and finger prints on file, so they should not need to see the passport AGAIN to issue a visa. They can even see I have followed the rules on past trips and departed on time.

3 No restrictions once I get to Thailand, no quarantine, no sandbox, nothing !

4 No COE


5 No compulsory covid insurance. By all means ask for proof of travel insurance or funds for unexpected medical expenses.

6 No threat of being sent to "hospital" if failing a covid test & havng no symptoms.

7 Open all the bars etc


Actually, for countries like India and China, lower visa fees might just be a suitable inducement. I think China charge UK citizens nearly £200 based on reciprocal pricing. Since I would rather make the first visit to China for just 2 weeks to see how it is, £200 is something of a minor deterrent. Already encouraging me to think I should go for a month, which puts me off. (Obviously this is pre-covid. Now it is out of the question.)

£30 for 60 days in Thailand, probably to be extended, is almost irrelevant.

[christianpfc]

Philippines are missing in my previous post.

I think China charge UK citizens nearly £200 based on reciprocal pricing. Since I would rather make the first visit to China for just 2 weeks to see how it is, £200 is something of a minor deterrent. Already encouraging me to think I should go for a month, which puts me off. (Obviously this is pre-covid. Now it is out of the question.)

In 2019 I wanted to go to China, but when I saw their tourist visa fees (about 150 EUR for German passport) and other requirements (proof of hotel booking for every night), I thought (to keep this forum family-friendly, I spare you my exact words) and went to Myanmar once again (e-visa works great, not cheap at 50 USD but worth the money, no questions about when and how I will leave the country - I had a few departures over land, no questions where I will stay) and had a great time as I had in all my trips to Myanmar.

Only later did I learn of 48/72/144 hours visa-free transit in China, which fits me perfectly (Taiwan and Hongkong count as foreign countries for visa purposes). Just right to get a first impression, and to sort everything out (e.g. no google maps; there are ways around but I would want to try internet behind the Great Firewall of China). The 144 hours count from 00:00 the day after your arrival; whereas in Thailand day of arrival is day 1.

2 If #1 is not possible, please do an e-visa so I don't have to post the passport.

And e-visa doesn't use up one page of passport.

[goji]

The 144 hours count from 00:00 the day after your arrival; whereas in Thailand day of arrival is day 1.

The day of arrival in Thailand is day 1 for visas, so 30 days is effectively 29 nights.
The day of arrival in Thailand is day 0 for quarantine, so 14 days quarantine is 15 nights.

And e-visa doesn't use up one page of passport.

I always liked that as well, then I decided to get a 50 page passport in 2019 and then covid came along. I'd almost like to "waste" some pages now.