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Vacationers planning overland journeys or direct flights to Nepal and Bhutan will now have to navigate formalised identity-verification checks, even as the government preserves visa-free entry between the neighbouring nations. Under an amended regulatory framework notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Indian travellers departing for or returning from Nepal and Bhutan must furnish specific proof of identity recognised under the official “Visa Manual”.<\/p>\n
The updated travel regime comes via the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) (Amendment) Order, 2026, issued under Section 33 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. The notification formally introduces a statutory definition of the “Visa Manual”\u2014the central compendium housing government instructions on visas, immigration, and border clearance protocols. Under the modified rules, border immigration authorities have the explicit mandate to inspect valid identification from Indian citizens travelling by road or air, with reciprocal documentation obligations placed on Nepali and Bhutanese citizens entering or exiting Indian territory.<\/p>\n
Adult Indian travellers must carry either a valid Indian passport or an original Voter Identity Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission of India. Standard domestic identity cards\u2014including Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, or driving licences\u2014are not valid travel credentials for crossing international check posts. For minors, accepted proof typically includes a valid passport, an official birth certificate, or an identity card issued by the head of a recognised school when accompanied by a parent carrying valid documents.<\/p>\n
Crucially, this border exemption applies strictly to direct movements between India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Holidaymakers who plan to use land border routes into Nepal or Bhutan as a transit route to connect onwards to a third destination cannot claim the relaxed document rules. In every such third-country journey, carrying a regular valid passport is mandatory, and passage is restricted exclusively to designated immigration checkpoints.<\/p>\n
Also Read: Travel insurance vs travel assistance: What protects you when a trip goes wrong<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Foreign nationals from Nepal and Bhutan also face tightened transit prerequisites. Those travelling beyond the three-nation corridor, as well as visitors who have embarked from or transited through China, Hong Kong, Macau, or Pakistan, must possess both an authentic passport and an active Indian visa to be cleared through border checkpoints.<\/p>\n Beyond tourist corridors, the Home Ministry’s gazette order reorganises and broadens several humanitarian, bilateral, and administrative exemption categories. Among the primary beneficiaries are persecuted religious minorities\u2014Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians\u2014from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2024. While the order shields these individuals from penal action for lacking valid travel documents or staying on expired papers, it introduces an explicit proviso mandating that they secure an appropriate visa category to regularise their ongoing stay in the country.<\/p>\n The amended order also grants documented relief to select Pakistani nationals who entered India on or before December 31, 2009, with an intention to settle permanently but have found it impossible to renew their passports due to the non-possession of a Pakistani Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC). To qualify, eligible individuals must have clean security agency records, have left behind Indian citizen family members, must not have married or acquired immovable property in Pakistan, and must formally undertake never to return.<\/p>\n Similar regularisation provisions have been extended to long-term Partition-era returnees residing in Kerala, as well as persons of Indian origin holding Malaysian or Singaporean citizenship who encounter bureaucratic barriers in renewing foreign papers, requiring them to acquire local visas to maintain their legal residency.<\/p>\n The notification additionally codifies standard operational exemptions for official duty personnel. Members of India\u2019s Army, Navy, and Air Force travelling on state assignments\u2014along with immediate family members accompanying them on government transport\u2014remain fully exempt from routine passport and visa checks. Comparable relief covers foreign military crew on warships docked at domestic ports under Military Ship Repair Permits, registered Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who arrived up to January 9, 2015, and registered Tibetan nationals who hold valid Entry Permits or Special Entry Permits issued through the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.<\/p>\n Also Read: UPI payments at Dubai Duty Free: What Indian travellers need to know<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n