Travel to India during Covid Restrictions

[sinnerman26]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to collect the experiences from people who have traveled to India in recent times since the pandemic related restriction were put in place, either on the OCI card or on a Visa.

I wanted to know specifically if there were any extra documents required besides OCI card and US passport / US passport with visa
Whether you had to quarantine once you land in India
Are there any other things to keep in mind in terms of airlines, airports, etc. given that the times are different.
I haven't been to India in recent years and I've no idea which airports are accepting international travelers, what the Indian immigration & custom officials are expecting when you land in terms of documents, whether surrendered passport/renunciation is required.

Feel free to share your experiences so that others can learn and keep these things in mind if they are planning to make a trip to India.

[Donald_Trump]

sinnerman26 Currently there are no restrictions for Indian nationals and OCI card holders as long as they can get a flight to any airport in India. You just need a -ve Covid test (within last 2-3 days) to travel. Quarantine requirments are also not too strict. It's better to arrive in non Mumbai or Delhi airports if you can as those have the most strict restrictions anywhere in India.

Recently (Within last couple of weeks), 1 of my relatives travelled to India (1st port of entry was Hyderabad) but final desitnation was elsewhere and didn't face any issues.

[sinnerman26]

sinnerman26 Currently there are no restrictions for Indian nationals and OCI card holders as long as they can get a flight to any airport in India. You just need a -ve Covid test (within last 2-3 days) to travel. Quarantine requirments are also not too strict. It's better to arrive in non Mumbai or Delhi airports if you can as those have the most strict restrictions anywhere in India.

Recently (Within last couple of weeks), 1 of my relatives travelled to India (1st port of entry was Hyderabad) but final desitnation was elsewhere and didn't face any issues.

Thank you for the insights as always!

I am planning a trip after I get my OCI at some point in March/April and just wanted to make sure that its not too much of a hassle.

[Donald_Trump]

Thank you for the insights as always!

I am planning a trip after I get my OCI at some point in March/April and just wanted to make sure that its not too much of a hassle.

You are welcome, glad to help. Yes, as time progresses normalization is getting more closer so may be March/April I believe would be more normal than today!

[jjml]

Family and I will need to travel end of April or so, some questions if someone can please help answer/share their related experience.

1. Are there any known issues or restrictions for US national Indian-visa holders to travel?
2. Can I reuse the visa that was issued ~2 years ago? I understand there was a temporary visa cancellation, but would they actually make us get a different visa stamp?

For context:
1. Wife and I have OCI
2. One kid had a visa issued ~2 years ago and it doesn't make sense to get OCI because the passport will change when the kid turns 5 (which is very soon).
3. Another kid has no OCI, no Indian visa issued (so will need to get visa OR OCI before we travel). Looks late already to get OCI now.

[nicoleBa]

I traveled to India a month ago, and I though I won't have problems because I am vaccinated, I traveled with dbauskunft.com, and they didn't require any additional documents or something. I read somewhere that even passengers arriving from non-risk countries must home quarantine for seven days, followed by an exit PCR test on the eighth day. Two days after my arrival, I received a phone call from my district collector's office to check on me, and they said that I had to be home quarantined for 14 days! It did ruin my mood and my vacation.