Effective March 13th all Visas for India are suspended until April 15th. This applies to point of departure, which means that passengers leaving their home country prior to March 13th should have their visas honored. Visa-free travel for Overseas Citizenship of India cardholders is also suspended until April 15. Diplomatic, official, UN, employment and project visas are excluded from this ban.
Travel to India by anyone requiring a visa must offer a compelling reason to an Indian Mission. Indian nationals returning from current highest-risk countries including Germany and Spain (or having visited since February 15) must be quarantined for 14 days. Land borders are being restricted.
Gateway To India, Mumbai
All travelers, even those who have not visited China, South Korea, and other high risk areas, may be subject to quarantine on arrival. Indian citizens are being advised not to travel abroad.
Students in Italy returning to India will be required to undergo testing prior to travel. Once declared negative for the virus they will be quarantined on arrival.
It seems like this will cause a rush on travel to India and may cause some people who are positive for the virus to travel prior to Friday.
(HT: @Roar-Singh)
I’m from the US and currently in Kazakhstan (so departed before the March 13 deadline). I transited through India on my way to KZ (I took advantage of a stopover in India so I used my 5 year e-visa). Supposed to fly home with the following route: Kazakhstan – India – UK – US March 20. Since I departed my trip prior to 3/13, does that mean my visa is still valid, even if I haven’t been in India?
We should consider closing all our ports to cruise ships for awhile considering the enormous resources that are diverted to test several thousand passengers and crew when a couple of dozen onboard fall ill.