New Delhi (Mizzima) – India is to welcome the New Year by welcoming travellers from five Southeast Asian countries including Burma with visas on arrival, the Hindustan Times daily reported on Sunday.
The single-entry visas will be available from January 1 for citizens of Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines and Laos at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai international airports and will be valid for 30 days, the report said, citing a senior Tourism Ministry official.
“The decision was taken after due discussion with the ministries of External Affairs and Home. A formal announcement in this regard will be made soon,” the official said, adding, “the VoA [visas on arrival] would facilitate in attracting more Buddhist pilgrims from these countries.”
The visas however will be issued to travellers from these countries visiting for any purpose. Even so, the daily reported that India had decided to issue the visas as a New Year’s present to Buddhist pilgrims.
The visa fee had not yet been fixed, the official said. Tourist visas usually cost US$40.
Burmese pilgrims usually visit four main attractions in South Asia, namely, Bodh Gaya, Varanasi, Kushinagar in India and Lumbini, the reputed birthplace of the Buddha, in Nepal. Tourists also usually take in the Taj Mahal and New Delhi.
Burmese national carrier Myanmar Airways International flies direct to Bodh Gaya on its Rangoon-India and Mandalay-India routes.
India has this year been issuing for a fee of US$60 visas on arrival to citizens from Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore.
The number of visas issued under this scheme between January and November were Singapore, 1,623; New Zealand, 1,604; Japan, 1,241; Finland, 1,123; and Luxembourg, 53, the Indian government press bureau reported on its website last Thursday.
