Year: 2018

Thailand just waived off its visa on arrival fees till 30th April 2020 for travelers from 21 countries, including India. In a move to increase traveler inflow in the country and boost tourism, Thailand’s cabinet recently approved a measure to waive off two months fees paid by visitors for visas on arrival.In the new measure, tourist from 21 countries will not pay the visa fee of 2,000 baht (Rs 4,385) for the time period between December 1 and January 31 for travellers.The countries who can take advantage of this waiver are India, China, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Andora, Bulgaria, Bhutan, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Romania, San Marino, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. However, the duration of stay in the country will remain fixed at 15…

Tourist travelling to Vietnam in late January or early February who require visa approval numbers or invitation letters should submit their passport details by 15 JAN 2019 to avoid any potential issues. The Immigration Department will close for 7 days, tentatively from 4-10 FEB 2019. Therefore, consulate wont be be able to provide visa approval numbers or invitation letters at all during that time. For the weeks immediately before and after this period, there are frequently delays in normal visa services and urgent visa approvals may not be available due to the backlog of requests.

Applicants seeking Panama visa for the purpose of Business or Tourism must apply from Consulate General of Panama, Mumbai. Prior appointment needs to be taken to submit the documents at the Consulate. Embassy of Panama, Delhi will no longer accept the visa applications. Irrespective of any nationality, if the applicant is holding a valid and at least once travelled multiple entries visa for any of the following countries i.e. USA, UK, CANADA, AUSTRALIA and SCHENGEN (EUROPEAN NATION) with minimum 1-year validity when entering in Panama, the applicant is entitled to take an “on arrival visa” at the Panama airport. Please note the visa should not be a transit visa. Where the applicant is not holding any visas as per the 1st point mentioned above, the applicant can apply for his visa through…

From Wednesday 4 July 2018 INZ will no longer be issuing physical visa labels in passports. All approved visa applications will receive an email with an approval letter, which is an E Visa, unless specifically requested by an applicant, and after a fee is paid. E Visas will now be issued and will need to be printed out and carried with a physical passport, when travelling internationally. Once the application for a New Zealand visa is being processed the decision will be conveyed by an email, if an email address is provided or a letter, In case, an email address is not provided. The email/letter will provide details of a decision and If an application is approved, no visa label will be placed inside the passport. Instead, an electronic visa…

According to New regulations effective April 28, 2018 of China Immigration of the Exit and Entry Administration Law of P.R.C., China Immigration Inspection authorities will collect the fingerprints of entry foreigners aged between 14 and 70. Upon arrival at the airport, foreign passengers are advised to follow the signposts or seek the guidance of immigration officers to the fingerprint self-registration area, where they can conveniently register their fingerprint information according to on-screen prompts. Once the registration process is finished successfully, please keep the receipt and proceed to corresponding waiting areas for speedy clearance of border control procedures. For holders of a diplomatic passport, a European Union Laissez-passer, or in possession of a Chinese diplomatic visa or courtesy visa, pax will be exempted from fingerprint registration and can proceed directly to…

Now Indian Nationals can avail visa on arrival for Jordan. The visa obtained is valid till 30 days. To avail this visa return journey flight ticket is mandatory

From 15 February 2018, all Indian passport holders are now eligible for visa on arrival at any port of entry into Zimbabwe subject to payment of the appropriate visa fees.

From 10th Feb visit to Uzbekistan for Indian nationals has become easier. As now processing time for Indian national has reduced to 2 days instead of 5 days. Also now Indian nationals can visit without Invitation letter. In future travel to uzbekistan would be more convenient as by july 2018 one can apply for E visa as well.

The UAE announced visa on arrival for Indians, which will strengthen the relation between two friendly countries. UAE Ambassador & cabinet decided to grant visa on arrival to Indian passport holders with residence visa from UK and the European Union. Previously, the UAE government had announced that Indian passport holders with a valid American visa or a Green Card can avail UAE visa on arrival.

The government of Japan has simplified the procedure of Multiple entry visa for Indian Nationals.'Applicant’s Employment Certificate' and 'Explanation Letter stating the reason of applying for multiple entry visa’ are not required if applying for Multiple Entry Visa, Instead applicants need to submit only Passport, Visa application form with photo and Documents to prove the financial capability (for tourism purpose) / Documents to prove the applicants affiliation to certain enterprises (for business purpose). Multiple entry visas (Validity: 5 years maximum, Period of Stay: 90 days maximum) will be issued to applicants who have travelled to Japan twice or more in last one year. In this case, the eligible applicants may submit only their passports and visa application form.