Can I travel to India from Canada during Omicron Covid19.
- Joe Abrams
- Nov 28, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 27, 2022
This is from my experience by Traveling to India from Canada, I am posting some useful information for visitors/travelers from Canada to India. Before traveling to India I was unaware of the many rules and regulations and had to face last minute difficulties, but by God's mercy I could get through most of the challenges. The reason I post this is that it will save many headaches for travelers and tourists, as well as thousands of dollars from unwanted files and disruptions during this Covid 19 Omicron Virus season. Many of the regulation regarding Flights and Hotel accommodation are similar to the one's other countries are imposing.
So what do you need to travel to India
* Visa for tourists, India has opened its borders for tourists just like Canada for fully
vaccinated travelers.
* OCI Card for previous Indian Citizens to enter India to visit family and personal
purposes.
* Indian passport to travel to India or Canadian passport with at least six(6) months
validity left on the passport.
* WHO recognized vaccines such as Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Covid Shield are
recognized by Indian Authorities. Now printed copies should have the QR Code
cannot be just printed copies which Alberta and some US states provided.
* A Negative RT-PCR Test should be done before 72 hours of Boarding the flight from
the point of origin in Canada. I took a RT-PCR test 72 hours before boarding in
Edmonton, Alberta and entered the results in the Air Suvidha self declaration form.
I have included the link the below
* Indian nationals and OCI card holders who arrive in India on emergency purpose
such as death of near kin should declare on the Self Declaration Form(SDF) to
avoid quarantining and will be allowed to proceed to their final destination.
This should be done on the Air Suvidha portal.
* Once you enter the details in the Air Suvidha form it will ask for your Seat No on
on the flight which you can enter at a later time after Check-In is complete,
whether it is online or at the Airport. There is an option to enter the Seat No later
later on, but you cannot change your Name, date of birth and Passport Number,
be careful when you enter those information.
* Air Suvidha will ask for the address you are staying in India, give a local cellphone
number from your friend or relative in India. This is important as all future
communication will be done through that particular phone number.
You could also carry a cell phone from Canada to India, I know that Bell has good
connectivity in India.
* Air Suvidha entry is valid for all point of entry i.e. international Airports such as
Cochin, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi etc.
* Take a printed out copy of the Air Suvidha declaration to the Airport in Canada,
along with the Covid 19 Negative Test Result for Check-In. Do not forget your
printed Itinerary which has the Itinerary Number, your passport, OCI Card and Visa.
Visa on arrival is not available for India, e-Visa or Tourist Visa should be obtained
before travel to India. Or you should have OCI Card or Indian Passport to travel to
India.
See the link below for latest updates and Visa FAQ's.(Click on the link)
* The next thing you do is download the Arogya Setu App on your phone, this is
used by the Govt. of India to track Covid cases and inform you of the local Covid
conditions while you travel in India. This is important as it keeps the Govt.
informed if you are quarantining or not, in the unfortunate case you test positive.
* Important information: Carry medical coverage for you and your family in case you
fall sick in India. India is not cheap when it comes to Medical Treatment, good
treatment is available at both government and private hospitals. Per day ICU
charges can go upward of CAD $2000 per day.
* Important info: Carry Trip interruption Coverage Insurance as flights were
cancelled randomly when I was there. There were 4 tickets booked and cancelled
by me. I did not lose much money as I had coverage. Flights changes, cancellation
occur frequently while you are India for return journeys.
* People transiting from Chennai to Andhra Pradesh should follow AP regulations for
International Arrivals. Each state has its unique regulations for Covid 19 quarantine
for International passengers, click on the link to find your state and follow their
regulations. This is important, if you do not quarantine and found out you would
be fined for each day of non-compliance. See link below as to where you have to
register and quarantine when you arrive in India.
I went to Chennai, where I home self monitored for 14 days as I was fully
vaccinated and found to be Covid 19 negative at the test conducted soon after
landing. All passengers are forced to undergo testing at the Chennai Airport.
* Important Information: If you are traveling to any of the Hill Stations in Tamilnadu
it is mandatory to obtain an E-pass to travel, it is kind of a permit to travel to the
Hill station. You will find out how to register at the link below.
* It is advised to register for E-Pass for foreign arrivals in Tamilnadu, you would
need a local phone with local SIM Card to access the OTP.
To get a local SIM card you need to register your passport and give passport
size photos to register, you will definitely need local help to do this. It is better
carry a phone which works in India at least to receive text messages so you could
receive the OTP texts.
* Once you have reached India you are supposed to self monitor for 14 days and for
your reference I have included the link for international flow chart below.
Procedure for admitting Foreign nationals, OCI Card holders and Indian Passport
holders follow the link below as of 28-Nov-2021 w.e.f from 1-Dec-2021.
NEW COVID 19 TESTING PROTOCOL IN LIGHT OF THE NEW OMICRON VARIANT
THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES ARE AFFECTED.
List of Countries from where travelers would need to follow additional measures on arrival in India, including post-arrival testing (Countries at-risk) (Updated as on 26th November 2021) 1. Countries in Europe including The United Kingdom 2. South Africa 3. Brazil 4. Bangladesh 5. Botswana 6. China 7. Mauritius 8. New Zealand 9. Zimbabwe 10. Singapore 11. Hong Kong 12. Israel.
Mandatory quarantine and testing on the 7th day has been declared for passengers arriving from the above countries. Keep yourself updated from the links above to observe changes to International flights to India. December 1 the above procedure will take place.
If you found this useful please share with your friends and comment, let me know if you have any questions. I will try to return your message as soon as possible.
TRAVEL SAFE AND HAVE A PLEASANT FLIGHT, I am not a Travel Authority you should keep yourself updated from the links given above and I have shared my travel experience. View the video below of my journey to India recently.
All Covid Restrictions removed in Canada, there is no need to register on ArriveCan or upload negative Covid result from Oct 1 2022.