TRAVEL GUIDELINES

Eligibility of passengers to travel on flights INTO INDIA:

• Stranded Indian nationals.
• All Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders holding US passports.
• Foreigners (including diplomats) holding valid visa issued by an Indian Mission in any category covered under Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines dated June 30, 2020. click here to check the MHA guidelines.

Eligibility of passengers to travel on flights OUT OF INDIA:

• Any Indian national holding any type of valid US visa. Airline will check that there is no travel restriction for Indian Nationals to enter USA with the particular visa category before issue of ticket/boarding pass to the Indian passenger.
• US citizens, legal permanent residents, and foreign nationals holding valid US visas.
• Seamen of foreign nationalities; Seamen holding Indian passports would be allowed subject to clearance from the Ministry of Shipping.

Eligibility of passengers to travel on flights INTO INDIA:

• Stranded Indian nationals.
• All Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders holding Canadian passports.
• Foreigners (including diplomats) holding valid visa issued by an Indian Mission in any category covered under Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines dated June 30, 2020. click here to check the MHA guidelines.

Eligibility of passengers to travel on flights OUT OF INDIA:

• Stranded Canadian nationals/residents.
• Any Indian national holding any type of valid Canadian visa. Airline will check that there is no travel restriction for Indian Nationals to enter Canada with the particular visa category before issue of ticket/boarding pass to the Indian passenger.
• Seamen of foreign nationalities; Seamen holding Indian passports would be allowed subject to clearance from the Ministry of Shipping.

All flights between India and UK are suspended w.e.f. December 23, 2020, in view of the emerging Covid-19 situation. Passengers from UK will not be accepted for boarding on any direct/indirect flights to India.

Click here to read the detailed guidelines

As per the National Advanced Information Center (NAIC), UAE, all passengers holding passports with single name will not be accepted on flights to UAE.

However, the below mentioned categories of passengers are exempted from this rule.

• Passengers who have valid UAE residence visa and Emirates ID.
• Passengers whose passports have their father or family name printed on the second page and their visa displays more than one name.
• Passengers who are eligible for Visa-on-Arrival and whose passports have their father or family name printed on the second page.

As per the directives issued by Government of UAE & Government of India, all passengers travelling on flights to/from UAE must adhere to the below guidelines:

Arriving into UAE:

• GDRFA/ICA approvals are no longer required for UAE residents to travel to the UAE through Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah Airports.
• All passengers travelling to the UAE may present either of the following:
  1. Full vaccination certificate with QR code system that reflects the completion of WHO or UAE approved vaccine doses for Covid-19, Or
  2. A valid negative Covid-19 test report with a QR code, as issued from an ICMR or Pure Health approved laboratory. The report should be based on a molecular diagnostic test intended for the qualitative detection of nucleic acid for SARS-COV-2 viral RNA, that is issued within the valid time frame, namely, 48 hours from the time of collecting the sample.
• Self testing / self-administered PCR tests will not be acceptable.
• To check the list of ICMR approved laboratories, please visit - https://www.icmr.gov.in/pdf/covid/labs/archive/COVID_Testing_Labs_02032021.pdf .
• To obtain the test report from a Pure Health laboratory, you can visit their website at https://preflighttest.com.
• Reports issued by the below mentioned laboratories will not be accepted:
  1. Suryam Lab (Jaipur)
  2. Dr P.Bhasin Pathlabs Pvt Ltd. (Delhi)
  3. Noble Diagnostic Centre (Delhi)
  4. 360 Diagnostic & Health Services
• RT-PCR test will be carried out at the arrival airport at UAE.
• The below category of passengers are exempted from the requirement of an RT-PCR test prior to travelling to Dubai:
  1. The inbound passengers escorting a 1st degree UAE nationals’ relative.
  2. Domestic labour escorting a UAE national sponsor during travel.
  3. Children under the age of 16 years and passengers with moderate/severe disability are exempted from undertaking a Covid-19 test.
• All passengers transiting through the UAE must:
  1. Obtain their necessary entry permissions/approvals from the country of their final destination and;
  2. Hold a valid negative Covid-19 test report issued within the valid time frame, namely, 72 hours from the time of collecting the sample. Report should be issued from an approved health laboratory which uses the QR code system.
  
  

  To enter UAE:

  Entry to Dubai on Visa on Arrival is permitted for Indian National Passenger(s). However, these passengers must comply with the following:

  1. They must either have a visitor’s visa or a green card issued by the United States; or
  2. They must hold a Residence Permit issued by the United Kingdom or European Union; or
  3. They must hold a valid visa issued by the United States, United Kingdom or European Union with the validity period of atleast 6 months.

  The authenticity of all the above requirement(s) will be checked at the departure airport prior to the issuance of Boarding pass. Any passenger who does not fulfill the above conditions/requirements will not be issued a boarding pass.

Arriving into India:

• Only Indian nationals stranded in UAE, all Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders holding UAE passports ( Click here for OCI details), and UAE national holding valid visa issued by an Indian mission in any category (including diplomats) as per the Ministry of Home Affairs’ guidelines are permitted to travel to India. Please check the guidelines  here
• All passengers are required to have the Aarogya Setu App installed on their mobile phones.
• Passengers who have received both vaccination doses in India are exempted from RT-PCR testing prior to departure and need to upload their COVID-19 vaccination certificate issued in India on the Air Suvidha portal - https://www.newdelhiairport.in/airsuvidha/apho-registration.
• All other passengers need to carry a negative RT-PCR certificate and upload the same on the Air Suvidha Portal, the test for which should have been conducted within72 hours prior to scheduled departure.
• Passengers failing to comply with the above will be denied boarding.
• All passengers will have to undergo thermal screening on arrival, and if found symptomatic will be treated as per protocol.
• All SpiceJet flights are operating from Terminal 2, Dubai International Airport. With effect from June 24, 2021, 10 am onwards, all flights to and from Dubai will operate from Terminal 1, Dubai International Airport.

Click here  to read detailed guidelines.

Note: Documents as mentioned above will be verified by the airport staff at the check-in counters. Passengers will be denied boarding if they are not able to furnish the aforementioned documents and apps.

Guidelines for passengers travelling to Oman:

1. Non-Omani citizens with residency permits who have completed more than 180 days outside Oman or whose visa has expired, shall be required to obtain an approval from their sponsor before planning to travel to Oman. This process will be assisted by “Sanad “ offices in Oman, in reference to the duly filled Form 1A and No Objection Certificate which will be provided by the local sponsor.
2. Categories of passengers who are allowed to travel to Oman:
   1. Omani Nationals
   2. Residents of Oman
   3. Visa holders of Oman
   4. Those who can obtain Visa-on-Arrival in Oman and those who don’t require a visa to travel to Oman. Please visit https://evisa.rop.gov.om/visa-eligibility for more details.
3. Passengers travelling to Oman are no longer required to carry a negative PCR certificate, however, they are mandatorily required to be in possession of their final vaccination certificate of both the doses of approved Covid-19 vaccines which are accepted for travel to Oman. They should have been last vaccinated at least 14 days prior to traveling to Oman.

Click here for more details.

Eligibility of passengers arriving at Bangladesh:

1. Nationals/residents of Bangladesh and foreign nationals holding valid and/or pre-approved visa from Bangladesh
2. Any Indian national holding any type of valid visa from Bangladesh.
3. Vaccinated with Covid-19 vaccine: Passengers who have completed full dose (single/double dose as applicable for a full dose) of WHO approved Covid-19 vaccine can enter Bangladesh with the official proof of vaccination certificate bearing a QR code. In this case, there wouldn’t be any requirement of carrying an RT-PCR based Covid-19 negative certificate.
4. Not vaccinated with Covid-19 vaccine: Passengers who have not completed full dose (single/double dose as applicable for a full dose) of WHO approved Covid-19 vaccine can enter Bangladesh provided they carry their negative RT-PCR based Covid-19 test report bearing a QR code. The test should have been done within 72 hours prior to departure.
5. Passengers below the age of 12 years are not required to carry any RT-PCR test report. They will, however, be required to observe the same health formalities that will apply to their family members on arrival.
6. Only the hard copies of the Vaccination certificate/RT-PCR test report, as applicable, should be carried. These documents must be printed in English only, and must be issued from a government approved laboratory in India (ICMR) or a certified designated laboratory, list of which is available on https://www.icmr.gov.in/.

All symptomatic passengers arriving in Bangladesh shall be sent to the government authorized hospital for further formalities.

Seamen shall be allowed to travel provided they are in possession of all necessary documents such as Passport, CDC Booklet, Guarantee Letter, Ok-to-Board letter and signed on to the ship within 72 hours of their arrival.

Click here to read the detailed guidelines.

The below mentioned guidelines are effective till June 28, 2023:

Visiting and commercial visa holders are not allowed to travel on Jeddah and Medina flights.

Passengers with the following visa will only be allowed to travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia up until June 27, 2023 (9th Dhul’Hijjah 1444H).

1. Guests of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Program for Hajj and Umrah
2. Guests of the Ministry of Media who will cover HAJJ season 1444H/2023

Passengers holding visiting visas for business, media stuff, doctors, exports, and diplomats travelling until June 28, 2023, to Jeddah and Medina must obtain prior approval from the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

Arriving into Maldives

1. Nucleic test (PCR report):

   All passengers, including those who have completed their Covid-19 vaccination, must carry their negative reports for the Nucleic test (PCR report) for arrival into Maldives, test for which should have been taken within 72 hrs prior to arrival.

   Children below the age of 1 year are exempted to carry the test report.

   The RT-PCR report must contain the name of the passengers as per the passport, name and address of the testing laboratory, type of test, date of sample collection along with the result.

2. Following categories of passengers are permitted to enter into Maldives:
   1. All tourist
   2. Special visa holders
   3. Business visa holders
   4. Foreign diplomats and their accompanying family members
   5. Crew of ships who arrive by air to sign onto a ship
   6. Maldivian nationals, Resident permits and work visa holders
   7. Expatriates travelling to Maldives (must hold a valid visa issued by the Maldives Immigration).
3. Tourists:
   1. Tourists travelling to Maldives will be provided a visa on arrival. They must have a confirmed hotel reservation for the entire stay in a registered tourist facility.
   2. Tourists, except children who are not eligible for vaccination, intending to check-in or stay at tourist facilities in inhabited islands will be permitted if:
      1. they have completed their prescribed dose(s) of a Covid-19 vaccine (as approved by the World Health Organization Emergency Use Listing (EUL) or Maldives Food and Drug Authority), and at least l4 days have passed after the completion of the prescribed dose(s), and;
      2. they hold a negative result for a nucleic acid test (PCR test) for COVID- l9 with sample taken at most 72 hours before departure from the first port of embarkation.
   3. Tourists, who have completed their prescribed vaccination dose(s) for Covid-19, intending to stay at local islands are permitted to check-in at only those local tourist guesthouses that comply with the following criteria stated by the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
      1. At least 60 percent of the Tourist Guesthouse Island’s population eligible for vaccination have completed the prescribed vaccination dose(s) for Covid-19 and 14 days have passed for them after their prescribed dose(s).
      2. At least 95 percent of staff in all tourist facilities of the Tourist Guesthouse Island have completed the prescribed vaccination dose(s) for Covid-19 and 14 days have passed after their recommended dose(s).
      3. At least 90 percent of the resident population of the Tourist Guesthouse Island who are 65 years & above, have completed the vaccination dose(s) for Covid-19 and 14 days have passed after their recommended dose(s).
      Tourist Guesthouse Islands that meet the above criteria will be announced by the HPA.
   4. Detailed guidelines can be read here.
   5. Issuances of tourist visa to tourists travelling from the South Asian countries (i.e. Afghanistan, Pakistan, lndia, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) will resume with effect from July 15, 2021.
4. Quarantine:
   1. The following categories of passengers are required to undergo mandatory home quarantine for l4 days at their place of residence or work. Such passengers will also be required to obtain a negative Covid-19 PCR test report before getting released from home quarantine.
      1. Special visa holders whose duration of stay in Maldives will be more than 7 days
      2. Business visa holders whose duration of stay in Maldives will be more than 7 days
      3. Foreign diplomats and their accompanying family members
      4. Maldivian citizens and Work visa holders (Employment visa)
   2. The quarantine period will be reduced to 7 days for passengers who have completed the recommended dose(s) of a Covid-19 vaccine as approved by the World Health Organization Emergency Use Listing (EUL) or the Maldives Food and Drug Authority or any other competent authority of the respective State (like ICMR in India) and at least 14 days have passed after the recommended doses(s). Such passengers must obtain a negative Covid-19 PCR test report before they are released from quarantine.
5. Work Visa holders:
   1. Passengers with work visa must apply for a pre-approval to travel to Maldives, by email to arrivals.heoc@health.gov.mv and copied to airport@immigration.gov.mv . They shall book a government designated quarantine facility/hotel without which they would not be permitted to travel to Maldives from India.
   2. Work visa holders and their dependents travelling to Maldives from the South Asian countries will be required to undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days in a facility designated by the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
   3. Work Visa holders must obtain a confirmation of their reservation at the designated quarantine facility prior to their travel to Maldives. They would also be required to undergo a self paid RT-PCR test between 48 hrs and 72 hrs after their arrival into Maldives before they get released from quarantine.
6. Maldivian citizens, other visa holders (except work visa) and their dependents travelling to Maldives will be required to undergo a mandatory home quarantine for 14 days at their home or place of work. They would also be required to undergo a self paid RT-PCR test between 48 hrs and 72 hrs after their arrival into Maldives before they get released from quarantine.
7. Traveler Health Declaration:  It is mandatory for all arriving passengers to submit the online Traveler Health Declaration available on the Maldives Immigration website portal https://imuga.immigration.gov.mv/ at least 24 hours prior to departure and obtain a verifiable QR code, which would be verified by the Immigration Authorities.
8. Passengers must follow all Covid-19 health protocols/appropriate behavior at departure, on-board the aircraft and on arrival at all times.

Departure from Maldives

1. Passengers must abide by all the health requirements of their destination country.
2. Tourists returning to lndia after their stay in Maldives must obtain a departure PCR test report; test for which should have been taken not more 72 hrs prior to departure from Maldives.
3. All passengers must submit the online Traveler Health Declaration for departure available on the Maldives Immigration website portal https://imuga.immigration.gov.mv/ only within 24 hours prior to departure.
4. In case, any passenger experiences any Covid-19 symptom on and/or after arrival, they must report the same at the Covid hotline 1676.

Click here to read the detailed guidelines.

Guidelines for passengers travelling to Sri Lanka:

• Passengers who are fully vaccinated are not required to undergo PCR tests on arrival at Colombo.
• Passengers arriving at Colombo who have completed at least 14 days after their 2nd dose of vaccination will be exempted from quarantine.
• Passengers, including children under the age of 12 years, who are fully vaccinated for Covid-19 are no longer required to carry any Covid-19 test reports.
• Children between the age of 12 and 18 years who are vaccinated with atleast one dose of recognized vaccine for Covid-19 and have completed atleast 14 days after their vaccination can also travel to Sri Lanka without any test report.
• Passengers who have been vaccinated with only one dose of Covid-19 vaccine and were infected with Covid-19 between 6 months and 7 days before their departure date to Sri Lanka, are not required to carry any test report, provided they carry their verifiable documents to prove history of Covid-19 infection, i.e. Diagnosis card or a positive PCR/RAT report.
• Passengers who have been vaccinated with only one dose of Covid-19 vaccine and were infected with Covid-19 more than 6 months before their departure date to Sri Lanka, must carry their negative RT-PCR/RAT test report. For RT-PCR report, the test should have been done within 72 hours prior to departure, whereas for the RAT report, test should been done within 48 hrs prior to departure.
• It is mandatory for passengers aged 12 years and above who are not fully vaccinated and do not fall in the aforementioned categories of passengers, to carry a negative Covid-19 PCR or RAT test report. For RT-PCR report, the test should have been done within 72 hours prior to departure, whereas for the RAT report, test should been done within 48 hrs prior to departure.
• Passengers infected with Covid-19 can arrive in Sri Lanka atleast 7 days after contracting the infection.
• Passengers arriving from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini (Swaziland) are permitted to enter Sri Lanka.
• It is mandatory for all passengers arriving in Sri Lanka to fill the Health Declaration Form online before the flight through -https://airport.lk/health_declaration/index.
• All foreign national passport holders will require a travel insurance with an adequate cover for Covid-19 hospitalization of up to 14 days in addition to the planned duration of their stay in Sri Lanka.
• All test reports and documents required to enter Sri Lanka must be in English. Self-swabs of RAT are not acceptable.

Click here to read the detailed guidelines.

Arriving into Kuwait:

Only below mentioned categories of passengers will be permitted to travel from India to Kuwait:

• Kuwaiti citizens, their first-degree relatives and workers accompanying them.
• Non-Kuwaiti’s.

All passengers travelling to Kuwait must be vaccinated with any of the below mentioned vaccines which are approved in the state of Kuwait.

• Pfizer BioNTech (2 doses)
• AstraZeneca/ Oxford Vaccine (Covishield - 2 doses)
• Moderna (2 doses)
• Johnson & Johnson (1 dose)

It is mandatory for all passengers arriving at Kuwait to carry their negative PCR test report issued within 72 hrs prior to the last direct flight to Kuwait, from an approved ICMR laboratory or a certified laboratory as mentioned on https://www.icmr.gov.in/. Report must have a readable QR code; RT-PCR timeline is calculated from the time of sample/swab collection.

All passengers arriving at Kuwait must download the Immune App on their mobile phones. App should have a green status and the below details should be available:

• Name & Passport number matching with the travel passport.
• Type of vaccination received.
• Date of doses taken.
• Name of vaccine agency

All passengers travelling to Kuwait must have a valid residence visa of Kuwait. Validity of the Civil ID/Digital Civil ID will be checked before the flight. Passengers holding transit visa shall not be permitted to travel.

Passengers who exited Kuwait on/after September 1, 2019 are permitted to re-enter Kuwait provided they are in possession of a valid residence permit/visa.

Passengers who exited Kuwait on/before August 31, 2019 are NOT permitted to re-enter Kuwait even if they hold a valid residence visa.

All passengers are required to upload their Civil ID or Mobile Civil ID on their mobile phones. It must match with the details on the passport such as Name, Passport number, Date of birth etc.

All passengers are required to register on the Kuwait-Mosafer App and must have a digital or hard copy of their registration.

All passengers are also required to download the Shlonik App on their mobile phones.

Guidelines for passengers travelling to Thailand:

1. Registration for the Thailand Pass is not required for travel to Thailand.
2. Requirement for Travel Health Insurance:
   • Passengers travelling from countries that mandate a pre-departure Covid-19 test for passengers arriving from Thailand, must carry a Travel Health Insurance for their travel to Thailand.
   • Travel Insurance should cover the number of days of intended stay in Thailand and additional 7 days.
   • The covered amount for Insurance must not be less than USD 10,000. However, it is not applicable for passengers travelling from India.
   • Passengers without the Travel Health Insurance may be required to purchase the same upon their arrival in Thailand.
   • Passengers from the UN agencies such as UN, WHO, IOM, UNHCR & UN passport holders etc., diplomats or official passport holders, expatriates with work permit, social welfare card/letter, and Thai passport holders, are exempted from carrying the Travel Health Insurance.
3. Passengers with the symptoms of Covid-19 during their travel shall be recommended to get their test done at arrival.
4. Transit/Transfer passengers are exempted from the vaccination check and the requirement of the Travel Health Insurance.

To check the list of approved vaccinations, click here.

Guidelines for passengers travelling to Myanmar:

1. All passengers traveling to Myanmar must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at least 14 days prior to entering Myanmar by any of the vaccination as mentioned below:
   • AstraZeneca or Covishield (AstraZeneca & University of Oxford, Bioscience (Korea)/Siam BioScience/ Serum Institute of India (SII));
   • Pfizer- BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or Comirnaty (Pfizer Inc., & BioNTe Janssen or Johnson & Johnson (Janssen Pharmaceuticals Companies Johnson & Johnson);
   • Moderna (ModernaTX, Inc.,);
   • Sinopharm or COVILO or BIBP-CorV (Beijing Institute of Biologi Products Co., Ltd);
   • Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) (Gamaleya National Research Centre Epidemiology and Microbiology);
   • Sputnik Light (Gamaleya National Research Centre of Epidemiology Microbiology)
   • Covaxin by Bharat Biotech
   • Myancopharm by Ministry of Industry, Myanmar.
   • Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) vaccine, Novavax Co.Ltd
   • Covovax, Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd
   • CorBEvax™, Biological E Limited
   • CorBEvaxTM, Biological E Limited
   • COMIRNATY®, BIONTech Manufacturing GmbH
   • COMIRNATY Original/Omicron BA.1, BioNTech Manufacturing GmbH
   • VAXZEVRIA, AstraZeneca AB / SK Bioscience Co. Ltd
   • COVISHIELD™, Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd
   • COVID-19 Vaccine, Janssen-Cilag International NV
   • SPIKEVAX, Moderna Biotech
   • CONVIDECIA, CanSino Biologics Inc.
2. In the event that passengers are not vaccinated or fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to entering Myanmar, they must produce a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result issued within 48 hours prior to their arrival in Myanmar. Children below the age of 12 years are exempted from bringing along the RT-PCR test report if they are travelling with the fully vaccinated parents(s) or guardian(s).
3. The negative COVID-19 test result and the date of the test taken [or] the information regarding COVID-19 recovery must be clearly stated in English, with the particulars of the travellers according to their passport.
4. All non-Myanmar (foreign) nationals must purchase health insurance, including COVID-19 insurance, from a relevant country or internationally recognised insurance company. In case they are unable to produce health insurance documents, they would be required to purchase health insurance on arrival from Myanmar Insurance (please refer to mminsurance.gov.mm).
5. All documents in hardcopy or print (COVID-19 vaccination certificate and/or RT-PCR negative certificate, as applicable, along with the health insurance including COVID-19 insurance) will be checked by the airline staff at check-in before boarding the aircraft destined for Myanmar as well as by the respective health authorities upon arrival in Myanmar.
6. Passengers are required to submit a health declaration form and arrival card declaration on arrival to the health authorities. Any wrong declaration will attract legal action.
7. Passengers shall undergo thermal screening on arrival, and symptomatic passengers will be isolated for further testing and isolation as per local guidelines in Myanmar. The passengers must strictly follow the instructions of the airport authorities and health authorities.
8. In the event that passengers develop COVID-19 symptoms during their stay in Myanmar, they shall report the same to local health authorities.
9. Passengers shall access the website of the Ministry of Immigration and Population - https://evisa.moip.gov.mm for their visa requirements or exemptions and other visa-related matters.

Click here to read the detailed guidelines.

Guidelines for passengers departing from Myanmar:

• After checking in, passengers leaving Myanmar must complete, sign, and submit the Departure Card to Immigration.