India: Visas Suspended in Wake of Coronavirus Pandemic

The Indian government has taken temporary measures in an effort to contain the transmission of the COVID-19 after the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak a pandemic.

India announced yesterday, Wednesday 11 March, that most visas would be officially suspended from this Friday, 13 March, until 15 April. The move is expected to negatively impact its tourism and aviation industries, further knocking an already sluggish economy.

Diplomatic visas, as well as visas for international organisations, projects and employment, are excluded from the suspension declaration.

The country’s health ministry has already confirmed 73 cases of the contagion, a number which had previously ballooned in just four days. In a country of 1.3 billion people, the number of infected is expected to increase in the coming weeks.

The state of Manipur also closed its borders with the southeast Asian country of Myanmar as a “precautionary measure”.

The authorities have “strongly advised” its citizens against travelling outside the country, otherwise they will be forced to undergo a 14-day quarantine.

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