India introduces tourist visa-on-arrival for citizens of 5 countries

India today introduced visa-on-arrival for tourists from five countries - Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore -- on an experimental basis for a period of one year.

The scheme is aimed at facilitating bonafide foreign tourists who plan their tours at a short notice, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said.

He said tourists from the five countries could also procure their visas from the Indian missions in their country in the normal course.

The visa-on-arrival, with a maximum validity of 30 days with single entry facility, shall be granted by immigration officials at the Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata airports, to start with, the spokesperson said.

"The grant of a 'Tourist Visa-on-Arrival' shall be regulated as per the guidelines prescribed in the Visa Manual," he added.

The Ministry of Tourism had been pushing for such a scheme for long as part of its efforts to boost inbound tourism. It felt that the scheme could be introduced for tourists from those countries which are potential source markets for India and from where it had no security concerns.

Apart from boosting arrivals from these countries, the scheme is also expected to provide a push to the civil aviation sector in the country.

NNN