International travel is slowly but surely easing up for Indians. Flight bookings abroad—whether it be for work, study or vacations—are on a sharp rise, as more countries relax their entry guidelines for Indian nationals.
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Book FlightsWant to know what the current scenario looks like?
Well, here are the latest updates of where you can go, as of September 7, 2021:
Air India has released a list of flights to 18 countries with whom India shares an air bubble agreement. Operating under the Vande Bharat Mission, these flights are open for bookings for eligible travellers from India and will operate till September 30.
Here’s the list:
Credit: Air India
Do bear in mind that all countries on this list are not open for non-essential travel from India. To know if you meet a country’s entry requirements, please visit our COVID-19 guidelines tracker.
There are a few destinations, however, that have relaxed their entry rules within the last few weeks, thus making tourist travel easier.
> Most notably, the UAE has started issuing tourist visas to fully vaccinated travellers from all countries who have received a WHO-approved vaccine. If you fulfill all entry rules, you can now travel to Dubai and Abu Dhabi! More details here.
> Next, Turkey has removed its 10-day quarantine rule for fully vaccinated travellers from India who have had 14 days go by since their final dose of an approved vaccine. However, such travellers will still have to submit a negative RT-PCR report not older than 72 hours:
📣Updated Quarantine Arrangements For Travelers To Turkey From India 👇 pic.twitter.com/OExkFOpmdj
— Turkish Embassy – New Delhi (@TurkeyinDelhi) September 4, 2021
> Sri Lanka has also reopened for fully vaccinated Indian tourists who have had two weeks go by since their final dose. We covered this news extensively, and you can read about it here.
> Spain is yet another country that is welcoming travellers from India. Fully vaccinated passengers who have been inoculated with an EMA/WHO-authorised vaccine with at least 14 days gone since their final dose will be allowed into Spain, provided they fulfill all additional guidelines.
> Canada has also been in the news, as fully vaccinated travellers from India can now fly to Canada if they are asymptomatic, have a valid pre-arrival COVID-19 molecular test report (RAT not accepted), and have submitted all required information on a designated portal. This has been termed the ‘fully vaccinated traveller exemption’ for foreign nationals and only counts for approved vaccines.
See the announcement:
Beginning September 7, foreign nationals who are fully vaccinated with @GovCanHealth approved #Covid19 vaccines may be eligible to enter Canada for discretionary (non-essential) travel.
Learn more ➡️ https://t.co/rZflJZdtTe pic.twitter.com/5Jo6HLviBV
— Canada Border Services Agency (@CanBorder) September 3, 2021
However, direct flights from India to Canada are suspended till September 21 so travellers from India must take an indirect route via a third country. Get more information about this here.
Now that we’re done talking about the newest relaxations, let’s rewind to the holiday havens Indians love, which have been open for a while:
- The Maldives
- Mauritius
- South Africa
- Costa Rica
- Russia
- Iceland
These countries have varying rules for arrivals from India, depending on whether you’re fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated or unvaccinated. Before booking a flight to these beautiful destinations, make sure to check their entry rules here!
That’s all for today, see you tomorrow 🙂
