Tips for Foreign Travellers Visiting India

As per government notices, it has been brought forward that certain areas in India are off-limits for foreigners, and citizens of international countries cannot pass through or even visit them without prior permission. As per the Foreigners Restricted Areas Order, the following areas have been declared as Restricted Areas for foreigners from China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. These include areas such as  Andaman Nicobar Islands and Sikkim – (a certain part ). As per the official government order, any foreigner from Pakistan, Afghanistan as well as China is not allowed to enter a protected/restricted area unless it's established to the satisfaction of the government bodies that there are justifiable and extraordinary reasons to allow such a visit. They would require a Restricted Area Permit to visit such places.  

Further, suppose an international citizen from the above-mentioned countries wants to visit a restricted or protected area for activities other than tourism on a visa other than a tourist visa. In that case, prior permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs shall be obtained before being able to enter the protected area permit. Such permissions, such as restricted area Permits are only allowed for certain specific purposes such as business, employment, studies, etc. All of these would be endorsed through the visitor passport. If in case a tourist has formidable reasons other than tourism to visit an area that has been restricted for tourists, he may be granted a special permit for the restricted places.  As per the official law, no foreigner from ( China, Pakistan and Afganistan) can visit or reside in a prohibited area declared as such under the provisions of the Officials Secrets Act of 1923 without the permission of civil authority having Jurisdiction at such place.

Foreigners from any country apart from the ones listed above would not require any special permissions as well as RAP for visiting these islands in Andaman & Nicobar:  (1) East Island (2) North Andaman (3) Smith Island (4) Curfew Island (5) Stewart Island (6) Landfall Island (7) Aves Island (8) Middle Andaman (9) Long Island (10) Strait Island (11) North Passage (12) Baratang (13) South Andaman (14) Swaraj Dweep (15) Shaheed Dweep (16) Flat Bay (17) North Sentinel Island (18) Little Andaman (19) Chowra (20) Tillang Chong Island (21) Teressa (22) Katchal (23)Nancowry(24) Kamorta (25) Pulomilo (26) Great Nicobar (27) Little Nicobar(28) Narcondum Island (29) Interview Island and (30) Viper Island (Day visit only).

As per the official Andaman Nicobar Police website- * Citizens of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan would continue to require Restricted area permit which would be granted only when the foreign tourist has obtained prior approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs*. 

While there are significant restrictions on visiting such places. Here are a few other tips that might be useful for foreign visitors visiting India. 

Important Measures to Take Before Entering Into India

Although there are no official mandates regarding the vaccinations to enter the nation, it is advisable to get a yellow fever vaccination if you are travelling to a country where the disease is pendemic.

It's important, however, that you visit a physician before you travel to ensure that all your vaccinations and other medical necessities are completed and up-to-date. Provide yourself with complete protection from widespread diseases and get vaccinations for diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis A,B , polio, and typhoid.

If you are planning to travel with a kid, consider getting vaccinations for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella. If you are planning to travel for longer, you should consider the possibility of getting vaccinated for rabies, Japanese B encephalitis, and meningitis.

Take Precautions Against Malaria

Anti-malarial tablets can take care of all your worries regarding the fear of malaria.  But always consider going on a course of medicine only after getting prescriptions from the doctor. If you don't want to get vaccinated, you can always take other precautions that can help you save yourself from mosquitoes carrying the malaria virus. These precautions can include:

• Covering yourself fully and wearing long-sleeved shirts. Also, use mosquito nets while sleeping.
• Better yet, it would be much easier to use mosquito repellents.
• You can also invest in a plug-in bug killer to help you.
• Or use a mosquito killer with a high concentration of diethyltoluamide.
• Also, ensure, try to wear light-coloured clothes to ensure that bugs do not get attracted towards you.

Get Insured

Travel insurance is a must while travelling in India. This also has to do with the fact that private healthcare is costly and public hospitals are poorly equipped. Ensure that all that you plan to go through during a trip is covered in the insurance deal. And if you are planning to participate in adventure activities, it would be fair to get comprehensive add-ons to your travel insurance that can cover any unlucky accident during your trip. If any problems or issues befall you, contact 112 or 100 and file a report to make a claim on your travel insurance.

Book Ahead during busy times and Festivals.

As a secular republic, India ensures that all the festivals get their due diligence while celebrating. So before booking hotels and accommodations for your travel plans, ensure that you have checked that there aren't any local, regional, or any other kind of festivals around. Sometimes, even local and indigenous festivals can lead to road closures, processions in the streets, a lack of accommodation in hotels, overnight stays in certain cities, and a lower frequency of transport services.

If you want to ease your hassles and opt for an easy-to-operate mobility provider we would recommend that you opt for  bike and car rentals services from RenTrip. We provide the most flexible and easy-to-use self-drive car and Bike rentals. We provide our services in all major cities and through our services you can easily tour India with ease without any hassles.