Visa on arrival

The number of nations whose citizens are eligible for visas on arrival (VoA) in India is likely to be expanded to include 13 countries largely from Europe, south-east and central Asia after a review convened by the PMO felt security conditions need not be a hurdle to promoting tourism. Countries that could be offered VoA include Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Brazil and South Africa. At the meeting, which was also attended by officials from other ministries like culture and environment, it was made clear that security cannot be invoked to strike down important government initiatives. At present, nationals of 13 countries can avail a visa on arrival, but list excludes most Asean countries VoA to be extended to Hyderabad, Goa, Kochi and Bengaluru airports The Union home ministry has been asked to work on details of the proposed new visa regime in a manner that factors in security concerns by utilizing information-sharing agreements with Asean and the European Union while ensuring that travel to India becomes hassle-free. Ramping up tourist numbers is seen as a significant revenue earner with six lakh foreign visitors a year being a miniscule proportion of global tourism. With timely intervention, the sector can grow much faster than the 24 million jobs currently targeted in the 12th Plan. So far, the VoA scheme has registered modest success with over 10,000 visas issued last year. At present, 13 countries whose nationals can avail of a visa on arrival include Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos and Myanmar. The list excludes more populous nations even in the Asean, which can be tapped for a much larger tourist footfall. The government is also drawing lessons from European countries that have leveraged tourism to tide over financial woes.