Countries are Open for Indian Travellers

As the effect of Covid-19 weakens, several countries have started accepting visas of Indian passport holders. These countries have opened their borders to Indians for various purposes and under varying requirements that will allow Indian travellers to enter their country. Read on to learn about their travel guidelines for Indian passengers.

Individuals
Sr. Citizens
Students

Plans for an individual of 30 years age travelling to USA for 15 days

Travelling Post COVID-19

The pandemic has changed everything, including travelling and going abroad. While most countries are opening their borders slowly, there are still some requirements to be taken care of.

Travellers are subjected to some conditions which they should fulfil in order to legally enter a country. These can include mandatory RT PCR test reports, vaccination proof, quarantine, self-declaration forms, mandatory travel health insurance plans, mobile apps and more. There are some countries that allow uninhibited travel too but are limited in number.

Now, several countries that have started accepting Visas for non-essential travel. The availability of options makes decision-making very easy for travellers. In this article, let’s briefly take a look at various countries India has established a transport or ‘air’ bubble with.

What is an Air Bubble?

You must have heard about this term or 'Transport Bubbles' if you've kept in touch with daily news. An Air Bubble is a temporary arrangement between two nations allowing commercial passenger services. Also known as Corona corridors, these travel bridges let citizens travel to other countries while keeping their borders closed to other countries. This allows people some freedom to move without increasing any risk.

As of now, India has established an air bubble with 30 countries. The general travel requirements have been given below:

Country	Requirements
Afghanistan	Proof of full vaccination or Negative COVID-19 report
Bahrain	Vaccinated and recovered passengers need to present a PCR test required on arrival, on the fifth day, and the tenth day after arrival' Non-vaccinated passengers need to provide an approved PCR certificate not older than 72 hours before departure and the rest of the steps as above. Unvaccinated persons aged 12 years and more must quarantine for 10 days
Bangladesh	Proof of Vaccination Health Declaration Forms and Passenger Locator Forms required Quarantine needed
Bhutan	2 weeks’ quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers 3 weeks’ quarantine for all other travellers Negative RT PCR report not older than 72 hours mandatory Indians required to pay SDF & Minimum Daily Package Rates for quarantine and other COVID-19 tests Have insurance coverage
Canada	Negative RT PCR report not older than 18 hours before departure Proof of complete vaccination If travelling to Canada from a third country, then a pre-departure negative COVID-19 should be issued from that country If previously infected with COVID-19, a positive molecular test report between 14 and 180 days must be issued
Ethiopia	Negative RT PCR report taken 120 hours before departure Quarantine is required if negative COVID-19 RT PCR is not available
Finland	Proof of complete vaccination from at least the 7th day after the last dose
France	Proof of complete vaccination Unvaccinated children above 12 years of age must provide a negative COVID-19 test report Sworn declaration about not having any COVID-19 symptoms or contact with any confirmed cases in the last 14 days before the journey Unvaccinated passengers must provide negative RT PCR not older than 72 hours
Germany	Digital entry registration for Germany if coming from a high-risk area, Negative COVID-19 test result or proof of vaccination or proof of recovery from COVID-19
Iraq	Any Indian national destined for Iraq and holding a valid visa for Iraq The airline will ensure there are no travel restrictions Negative RT PCR test report required for all
Japan	Proof of complete vaccination (Covishield accepted) Must have a gap of 14 days between the date of departure and second dose COVID-19 must be issued by the official government body Unvaccinated children must provide a negative COVID-19 test report
Kenya	A negative test report of a COVID-19 PCR with a sample taken not before 96 hours Children below 5 years are exempted from COVID-19 testing Completed electronic traveller’s surveillance online or through Jitenge application
Kuwait	A negative test report of a COVID-19 PCR with a sample taken not before 72 hours COVID-19 vaccination certificate with QR code Children below 6 years are exempted from COVID-19 testing Should install 'Shlonik' and 'Kuwait-Mosafar' on their mobile phones Mandatory online registration before departure Subject to 2 PCR tests if unvaccinated Quarantine for 7 days if required
Maldives	A self-declaration (Maldives Traveler Health Declaration) 48 hours before departing for the Maldives Valid negative RT PCR with sample not older than 96 hours Proof of full vaccination Proof of COVID-19 recovery required if tested positive 60 days prior to your trip
Mauritius	Valid negative RT PCR with sample not older than 72 hours before departure Proof of full vaccination COVID-19 testing upon arrival and day 5 mandatory COVID-19 covered travel health insurance cover is mandatory Unvaccinated guests need to quarantine for 14 nights
Nepal	Valid negative RT PCR (NAAT) test with sample not older than 72 hours before departure Proof of full vaccination COVID-19 testing upon arrival is mandatory Unvaccinated guests need to quarantine for 10 days in a hotel
The Netherlands	Valid negative RT PCR test Proof of full vaccination (at least 14 days after the second dose)
Nigeria	Valid negative RT PCR test within 72 hours before departing Register and payment on Nigeria International Travel Portal is mandatory COVID-PCR test on day 2 of arrival (for fully vaccinated people) COVID-PCR test on day 7 of arrival (for non-vaccinated people) after quarantine
Oman	Valid negative RT PCR test or proof of complete vaccination not older than 96 hours (for flights over 8 hours) A COVID-19 covered travel health insurance
Qatar	Valid negative RT PCR test not older than 72 hours Proof of complete vaccination (with at least 14 days since the last dose) Completed electronic registration on the Ehteraz platform
Russia	Valid negative RT PCR test not older than 72 hours A passport with at least 6 months of validity Completed application form to be filled before arriving in Russia COVID-19 covered medical insurance (DMS) Proof of accommodation COVID-19 testing mandatory on arrival
Rwanda	Valid negative RT PCR test not older than 72 hours before departure Completed Public Health Passenger Locator Form to be filled before arriving in Rwanda Hotel bookings for unvaccinated passengers to self-isolate while they wait for the test COVID-19 Test is not needed for accompanied children under 5 years
Seychelles	Valid negative RT PCR test not older than 72 hours before departure A valid Health Travel Authorization (HTA) for entry Valid travel health insurance covering COVID-19 expenses
Sri Lanka	Valid negative RT PCR test not older than 72 hours before departure Single dose for children between 12 and 18 years accepted as vaccinated Online health declaration form to be submitted for entry Unvaccinated passengers need to undergo testing upon arrival and mandatory 14 days quarantine
Tanzania	Any Indian national destined for Tanzania and holding a valid visa for Tanzania The airline will ensure there are no travel restrictions Negative RT PCR test report required for all
Ukraine	Valid negative RT PCR test or a rapid antigen test Or proof of complete vaccination COVID-19 covered travel health insurance policy
UAE (United Arab Emirates)	PCR test 48 hours before departure mandatory Valid negative RT PCR test with QR code conducted in last 48 hours Rapid PCR test with QR code mandatory at the airport (within 6 hours of departure) Test on arrival (Dubai) Must download the COVID-19 DXB Smart App
UK (United Kingdom)	Proof of full vaccination, COVID-19 test required on the 2nd day of arrival, passenger locator form to be filled
USA (United States of America)	Proof of complete vaccination or negative RT PCR test before 1 day of departure
Uzbekistan	Valid negative RT PCR test with QR code conducted in last 72 hours before arrival for passengers above 2 years

Disclaimer: *The above guidelines are subject to change, please check with the respective local government before booking your air tickets.

Other than these, the following countries have recently opened their borders to Indian passengers:

Singapore: Negative RT PCR required, not older than 72 hours. RT PCR test upon arrival required
Panama: Proof of complete vaccination endorsed by WHO/FDA/EMA, Negative COVID-19 test if unvaccinated.

Countries Yet to Open Borders to Indians

There are some nations still exercising strict restrictions on travellers from high-risk countries. A few of these countries are yet to open their borders to Indians:

New Zealand

The country requires every traveller coming from a high-risk country to transit in another country and observe strict 14 days’ quarantine before entering New Zealand from there, irrespective of vaccination.

Australia

Australia is set to allow entry of fully vaccinated students, provisional family visa holders, and working holidaymakers from December. However, the travellers must comply with strict quarantine requirements. They must fulfil the following requirements:

Be completely vaccinated by an authorized vaccine
Provide negative COVID-19 PCR test not older than 3 days from their departure

Italy

Italy is set to allow Indians to travel for essential purposes along with other List E countries. Those entering for work, health, study, or absolutely urgent purposes no longer need authorization from the Ministry of Health.

The passengers will need to submit a passenger locator form and undergo an antigenic swab 72 hours before entering Italy. Other than this, 10-days of fiduciary isolation is also required.

However, Indian tourists are still exempted from entering Italy.

Who Can Book Tickets to Travel Internationally?

After around two years of restrictions, the world is opening up and tourism is again an option for many. Thanks to active vaccination drives, many countries are inviting Indian travellers once again given that they follow the prescribed COVID-19 protocol.

According to your purpose of travel, your visa requirements, stay duration, the need for COVID-19 related documents will vary. Some countries have also specified mandatory travel health insurance plans covering COVID-19 related expenses as an additional safeguard. So make sure that you carefully confirm these requirements before booking your flight tickets.

Travel insurance companies

View more insurers

Disclaimer: The list of insurers mentioned are arranged according to the alphabetical order of the names of insurers respectively. Policybazaar does not endorse, rate or recommend any particular insurer or insurance product offered by any insurer. The list of plans listed here comprise of insurance products offered by all the insurance partners of Policybazaar. For complete list of insurers in India refer to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India website www.irdai.gov.in