No visa-free entry for Indians in Iran from November 22 | Why is the facility suspended?
Since February last year, Indian tourists were allowed to visit Iran without a visa under certain conditions. The visa-free entry facility was part of the Tehran's attempt in recent years to deepen its diplomatic ties with key Asian partners besides boosting tourism.
New Delhi: Indians will now need a visa to travel to Iran as the country has cancelled the one-way visa-free entry for them, citing job fraud, kidnapping and trafficking cases. From November 22, Indian nationals will not be able to enjoy visa-free entry into Iran anymore and have to have a valid visa for both entry and transit.
The new rule has made it mandatory for Indian travellers to apply for an Iranian visa in advance, carry the visa at the time of boarding and hold a visa for a airport transit as well through Iranian territory. The suspension applies to all Indian citizens who hold ordinary passports.
Since February last year, Indian tourists were allowed to visit Iran without a visa under certain conditions. The visa-free entry facility was part of the Tehran's attempt in recent years to deepen its diplomatic ties with key Asian partners besides boosting tourism. Iran had allowed Indians to enter Iran visa-free once every six months for a non-extendable stay of 15 days, exclusively for tourism purposes.
Why Iran suspended visa-free facility for Indians
The Iranian government halted the visa-free entry facility for Indian nationals in view of a series of cases in which Indian were trafficked into Iran under the pretext of job promises.
On Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the Iran's decision aims to stop the misuse of the visa waiver by organised criminal networks exploiting desperate job-seekers. In an advisory, the MEA said it had been alerted to multiple incidents where Indians were deceived into travelling to Iran with promises of high-paying jobs, easy transit to Gulf or European countries and visa-free employment opportunities. Many of these individuals were then kidnapped on arrival, with criminal gangs demanding ransom from their families, it said.
"The attention of the Government has been drawn to several incidents of Indian nationals being lured to Iran on false promises of employment… On arrival in Iran, many of them were kidnapped for ransom,” the advisory said. The ministry also warned that the suspended visa waiver had been exploited by agents who prey on vulnerable job seekers.
Earlier, the MEA had warned Indians about fraudulent agents luring some people with fake job offers and sending them to Iran. It also urged citizens not to fall prey to such offers, stressing that visa-free access had strict limits and did not apply to employment.