(a) whether the Government has any details about the arrival and online visa facilities to the Indian citizens by the foreign countries; and
(b) if so, the details thereof and the details of the visa fees being charged by such countries?
(a) whether the Government has any details about the arrival and online visa facilities to the Indian citizens by the foreign countries; and
(b) if so, the details thereof and the details of the visa fees being charged by such countries?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
[GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]
(a) & (b) Every foreign country has its own visa regime characterised by its own policy and rules. The visa policy varies from country to country and therefore, Indian citizens may receive varied visa facilities from different foreign countries. While some of the foreign countries have extended visa-on-arrival facility to the Indian citizens, some have allowed electronic visa or pre-arrival authorisation to Indian citizens. Apart from these, there are a few countries which have allowed visa free entry to Indian citizens. A list of countries, prepared on the basis of information available in the public domain, which provide different visa facilities like visa-on-arrival, electronic visas and visa free entry to Indian citizens has been put up on the Ministry web portal, www.mea.gov.in. This is a dynamic list and needs constant updation as the visa rules/guidelines of the foreign countries keep changing, owing to multiple factors.
As regards visa fee details, it is a matter solely under the purview and jurisdiction of the foreign country. Issuance of visa and fees to be charged is a prerogative of the visa issuing country. The visa fees are fixed, keeping into consideration multiple factors, such as, functional costs, reciprocity, tourism and investment policies and others. There are also countries which do not charge any visa fee from the Indian citizens owing to bilateral arrangements. The visa fee structure of a country is normally characterised by multiple slabs, catering to different categories, duration/validity, number of entries permitted etc. These rates also keep changing due to changes in visa policy of a country or other factors, including financial and economic considerations. The latest visa fees charged by different foreign countries can be checked on the websites of the foreign Embassies and Consulates in India or on the websites of their outsourced service providers or in the website of their concerned Ministry or department dealing with visa matters. In many cases, the visa application portal of the foreign country/Mission also contains the fee list. As such, this Ministry does not maintain a list of visa fees charged by various foreign countries from Indian citizens.