According to a PTI report, the Government of India (GoI) has decided to charge a fee of USD 60 per person for granting the Visa-on-Arrival scheme, with an aim to attract more tourists during the Commonwealth Games this year. The scheme has been extended to five countries, Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore, on a pilot basis for a year beginning this month. A senior official from the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) said that though MoT has sought more countries to be included in the scheme, these five countries are being granted the Visa-on-Arrival facility as a pilot project. Depending upon the response, more countries are likely to be included later on.
Tourists from these countries can avail the scheme for a maximum of 30 days with single entry facility by the Immigration Office at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata Airports, as per the Visa-on-Arrival guidelines finalised by GoI. Tourists will be allowed entry maximum two times in a calendar year with a minimum gap of two months between each visit under the scheme. MoT also launched the ‘Visit India Year 2009’ scheme in the overseas markets in April 2009 and |