Indonesia Offers Free Entry Visa To India

The Indonesian Ministry of Tourism has decided to issue free entry visas to travellers from 20 countries to promote tourism. He also included India in the second week of December 2023.

Sandiaga Salauddin Uno is the Minister of Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy. He proposed 20 countries with the most foreign tourists, excluding those with existing visa exemptions.

• The 20 countries list includes the following countries:

Australia, China, India, South Korea, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, Germany etc.

How will Indonesia benefit from this?

• According to the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, free entry visas to these 20 countries will increase foreign tourist visits.
• This will have many positive impacts on Indonesia's economy. 
• For example, domestic consumption will be boosted, investment will be attracted, and the development of the digital economy will be supported.

Many countries have already provided visa-free entry to India:

• Last month, in November, Malaysia announced that it would provide visa-free entry to India. Meanwhile, in Thailand-Sri Lanka, it has already been announced that visa-free entry will be given to Indians. Now, Indonesia has become the fourth Asian country to do so.
• Currently, 25 countries allow visa-free entry for Indians. Malaysia joined the list on 1 December following the government's decision to boost its tourism industry.

Benefits to the Indian passport holders of being visa-free:

• The importance of an Indian passport will increase as India gets visa-free entry into more and more countries.
• The Passport Index, the global benchmark for passport strength and travel freedom, has ranked India at 137th in its latest ranking.
• The index evaluates the potential of a passport based on the number of countries it comes from.
• The Passport Index also reveals India's Passport Power Rank, which is 68. This number indicates a moderate situation compared to other countries.
• According to the Passport Index, with a mobility score of 75, the Indian passport allows visa-free travel to 23 countries and visa-on-arrival access to 49 countries.
• However, four more countries have allowed visa-free entry to Indian citizens to promote tourism, taking the number to 27.

Visa-free entry for Indian passport holders to the following countries:

• Indian passport holders can now visit these countries visa-free:

Angola, Barbados, Bhutan, Dominica, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia

Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Macau, Mauritius, Nepal

Micronesia, Palestinian Territories, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Senegal

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu, Thailand

 Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia

About visa-free entry:

• Visa-free entry means citizens of one country can travel to other countries without a visa. That is, he does not require a visa to go to the country where he has been allowed visa-free entry.

India's rank in Henley Passport Index 2023:

• In the Henley Passport Index 2023, released in July 2023, the Indian passport has climbed seven places to 80th position compared to 87th position in the previous year, 2022. With this, Indian passport holders have the facility of visa-free travel to 57 countries.
• The Henley Passport Index is a ranking system. It evaluates passports from all countries based on the number of travel destinations their holders can visit without needing a prior visa.
• It is compiled and published annually by Henley & Partners, a global citizenship and residency consultancy firm.