Tuesday 07 / May / 2024
Muscat: Indian citizens in Oman and the rest of the world, have been asked not to travel overseas to avoid being infected by the novel coronavirus.
An advisory issued by the Government of India, and circulated by the Indian Embassy in Oman, says that although Indian nationals can travel abroad in case of an emergency, those who do fly to COVID-19 affected countries will be kept under quarantine.
“Indians are strongly advised to avoid non-essential travel to coronavirus affected countries,” said an official from the Embassy of India in Muscat. “On their return to India from affected countries such as China, the Republic of Korea, Iran, Italy, Spain, France and Germany, they will be mandatorily quarantined.
“Those who have visited China, Republic of Korea, Iran, Italy, Spain, France and Germany on or after Feb 15, 2020 will be quarantined for 14 days,” added the official. In addition, those who come to India from Korea or Italy will be required to provide a COVID-19 negative certificate, which states that the holder of the document is not affected by the disease. However, a transit through an airport is not considered a stay in that particular country.
In addition, foreign nationals in India who need to extend their visas can still do so. “Foreigners should approach their jurisdictional Foreign Regional Registration Officer or Foreigner Registration Officers through the e-FRRO system (https://indianfrro.gov.in/frro/),” said the official. “They can go out of India. However, before April 15, 2020, they would require a fresh visa to enter India again.”
India has also temporarily halted foreigners from travelling to the country, with only a few exemptions allowed.
“Those who hold employment and project visas, diplomatic passport holders, official passport holders, and those in the UN/international organisations can travel to India,” explained the embassy official. Indian passport holders who have children that have foreign passports are also required to get fresh visas from the nearest Indian mission, while Nepalese and Bhutanese nationals are still allowed to travel visa-free. However, Maldivian nationals now require a visa to enter the country.
With there being many Overseas Citizens of India in Oman and across the world, the Embassy of India has clarified that both adults and children who hold OCI cards are required to get fresh visas.
According to the World Health Organisation, as of 14th March, there are 82 cases of COVID-19 reported in India, a tiny fraction of the 142,320 cases worldwide across 129 countries, having caused 5,388 deaths.
