India has a population of 1.324 billion people and gave the world 4.7 million tourists in 2017 alone. However, Indian tourists often face difficulties in traveling abroad due to various visa requirements.
Despite being one of the largest South Asian countries, India has not been able to reach visa-free agreements with most countries in the world. For this reason, his passport is ranked 81 out of 106 in the list of the strongest passports in the world.
Still, there are countries around the world that have abolished certain requirement to attract more Indian tourists. According to the latest update of the Henley Passport Index, 60 countries worldwide offer visa-free travel for Indians.
The Indian passport, however, has seen an increase of three more countries as its holders have been granted visa-free entry or entry on arrival to 57 countries since April. Nevertheless India remains on the same place.
Only two European countries are open to India
Europe seems to be the least inviting part of the world for Indian passport holders. Only Serbia allows visa free entry for Indians. Ukraine allows them to enter with an entry visa on arrival at the border.
The Middle East and South America are less strict than Europe
In the Middle East, Qatar has abolished any type of visa for Indian nationals, allowing them to enter the country anytime for a limited period of time.
A visa on arrival is required to enter any of the following three countries:
A visa on arrival is required to enter Bolivia. As for the rest of the countries in the Americas, only the following countries have their borders open, allowing Indians to enter without a visa:
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Suriname
Indians can enter 10 Asian countries without first applying for a visa
Bhutan, Indonesia, Macao, Nepal and Timor-Leste have visa rules for the 1.324 billion inhabitants of India abolished. A visa should be applied for when you arrive at any of the following borders:
- Cambodia
- Laos
- Maldives
- Sri Lanka
- Thailand
African Countries
In total, 21 of the 54 countries on the African continent have opened their borders to Indian passport holders for visa-free entry or entry on arrival. An Indian visitor can only enter Mauritius, Tunisia and Senegal without a visa. A visa on arrival is required to enter the African countries listed below:
- Benin
- Cape Verde Islands
- Comoro Islands
- Djibouti
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kenya
- Madagascar
- Mauritania
- Mozambique
- Rwanda
- Seychelles
- Somalia
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Uganda
- Zimbabwe
Indians can visit exotic countries without a visa
Indians who have a penchant for sun, sea and sand have a lot of choices as most countries in Oceania and the Caribbean have abolished visa regulations for the South Asian country.
In the Oceania region, all Indian nationals can visit the Cook Islands, Fiji, Micronesia, Niue and Vanuatu without a visa. Upon arrival at the border, they must apply for a visa upon arrival in the following countries in the region:
- Marshall Islands
- Palau Islands
- Samoa
- Tuvalu
In the Caribbean, only the eastern island of St. Lucia Indian travelers to obtain a visa on arrival, while the rest are allowed visa-free entry:
- The British Virgin Islands
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Haiti
- Jamaica
- Montserrat
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago