On 11 March, a meeting of the high-level group of ministers (GOM) decided to suspend “all existing visas; except diplomatic, official, UN/international organisations, employment or project visas” until 15 April 2020.
The move comes into effect from 12pm on 13 March and will be enforced at “the port of departure”.
The visa free travel facility granted to overseas citizens of India (OCIs) will also be halted for this time period.
However, “any foreign national who intends to travel to India for [a] compelling reason may contact the nearest Indian mission”, the GOM added.
“Incoming travellers, including Indian nationals, are advised to avoid non-essential travel and are informed that they can be quarantined for a minimum of 14 days on their arrival in India.”
As of 10 March, there were 44 cases in India but no fatalities.
Worldwide, the number of confirmed cases was 113,702, with 4,012 people having died.
