Bare-ly Travelled In Last 2 Years
Never ever has anyone seen a pandemic that will be so sufferable that it will trap the citizens within the four walls. But citizens can have a quest for travel again as most of the countries have resumed travel restrictions and some of the countries do not even need a visa for travel.
By grabbing the Indian passport, citizens can now visit 60 countries across the globe without having a particular requirement for any specific visa. As per the Henley Passport Index 2022, India is positioned at 87th place, although it has fallen two positions on the index.
Before the outbreak of the pandemic, the Indian government had suspended all travel in March 2020. After a long span of two years, the ban has been lifted.
The latest Covid-19 protocol changes are mentioned below:
The ongoing Covid cases in the country reached 40,406 on Thursday, as a new contagious omicron variant has emerged.
Across the country, there were 209,600 new cases as of Wednesday, bringing the total number of infections to 11.9 million. Even though new cases have resurfaced, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declines to impose movement curbs on the whole country. Nevertheless, local governments are issuing advisory notices or enforcing restrictions to keep the pandemic at bay.
A nation with the world's largest elderly population has taken a different approach to removing the restrictions on its domestic residents. It has also kept a close eye on its borders, despite the fact that most countries have lifted their border restrictions completely. The Japanese government is taking its time and reopening its borders. The country limits visa entries per day and requires tourists to join chaperoned tours.
European Countries
The second smallest of the world's continents has destinations which do not impose any of the pandemic restrictions: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosaova, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden.
Till last month Indian nationals have been facing issues regarding visa delays which has made it very difficult for them to travel to European countries.
There are no restrictions on entering most of Western Europe, and pre-arrival testing or vaccinations are not required. Recently, Portugal has dropped most of its entry protocols.
Most countries permit unvaccinated travellers to enter; all of Spain and France require a negative arrival test for unvaccinated visitors.
Central and eastern European travellers continue to be affected by the ongoing Ukrainian conflict.
Australia
Travellers working in Australia can now book their tickets without actually worrying about the Covid-19 child restrictions as they have been lifted from 6 July 2022. Tourism resumed on 21 February 2022 nearly two years after the lockdown.
After India lifted the international flight ban on 27 March 2022, 8000 to 10,000 applicants for Oz visas have been submitted in a one week period since then. In total, 23.3 percent of visas were rejected, while 62.3 per cent of these were multiple visas. Being listed at sixth position, India is on the top 10 countries to receive visas in 2021.
Moreover, the Digital Passenger Declaration is also not required. Other countries have also eliminated this paper work.
Canada
A number of reforms have been made to the Canadian government's visa policy after almost two years of the pandemic. The Express Entry draws were resumed by the Canadian government on 6 July. The following are the programmes for which qualified candidates will be able to apply for permanent residency starting on 6 July, 2022: Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Trades Program and Federal Skilled Worker Program.
In addition, the North American country also implemented a few reforms under the Super Visa programme to allow Canadian and permanent residents to bring family members to their largest city.
Changes have already been implemented. With the changes, grandparents and parents can now live in Canada for five consecutive years without reapplying for a visa. The Super Visa will permit multiple entries, and it will be valid for 10 years.
Asylum seekers and those living apart from their parents are eligible to apply for the Super Visa, which offers lucrative and assured benefits. Unlike lottery-based visas, the Super Visa ensures certainty.
Sri Lanka
To encourage investment in the island nation, Sri Lankan Minister Dhammika Perera announced the approval of five-year visa for Indian business leaders.
New Zealand
As of now, the Government of New Zealand intends to open its tourism sector to the public at 11:59 pm on 31 July, 2022. Vaccinations and pre-arrival tests are required for all visitors. On day 0 or 1, the first test will take place, and on day 5 or 6, the second test will take place.
Non-citizens are only allowed to obtain work and student visas until the end of July.
The international travel industry is finally rebounding, and a reduction in travel restrictions is one of the reasons.
