India to extend visa-on-arrival facility to 180 countries; Pakistan, China barred

India’s tourism industry is set to witness significant boost as Planning Minister Mr. Rajeev Shukla announced to extend visa-on-arrival facility to tourists from all nations (precisely 180 countries) barring eight. Currently India’s visa-on-arrival is

confined to 11 countries including Japan, Philippines and Singapore.

“We have decided to extend the visa-on-arrival facility to tourists from 180 nations. It will take 5-6 months for the respective departments to put the required infrastructure in place. We hope to implement this from the next tourist session beginning October,” Mr.Rajiv Shukla said while speaking to the media.

Nations barred from visa-on-arrival include Sri Lanka, Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and Somalia, Mr. Shukla stated without citing no apparent reason.

The move is considered as a landmark in India’s tourism sector. “The facility will provide a major boost to the country’s tourism sector. This is historic,” Mr Shukla said.

According to reports, it will take around 5-6 months to put the infrastructure in place.