Visa Rules for Indian Passports in 2026: What Changed and What to Check

Every agency has a visa checklist somewhere: a Word file, a pinned WhatsApp message, a sticky note on the ops desk that says "Thailand: free, 60 days." Some changes this year are big, like a visa-free stay cut in half. Others are small, like a new online arrival card that nobody mentioned until a family was stuck at the check-in counter. And some rules haven't changed at all but are still quoted wrongly.

This guide covers the current rules in short-haul destinations your customers book most often. Each one links to the official government or embassy page it comes from. Read it once, fix your checklists, and then do what the last section says: check the source again before every departure.

Thailand: 30 days, not 60, and a digital arrival card

This is the change most likely to cause trouble this season. The Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi has announced that from 15 September 2026 Indian passport holders entering Thailand for tourism get a 30-day visa exemption. The earlier scheme gave 60 days. Travellers already in Thailand, or who travelled before the effective date, kept their permitted stay.

What to change in your checklist:

• Any itinerary over 30 days needs a visa before departure. Long Phuket-plus-Bangkok-plus-Chiang Mai holidays and long family visits are the trips at risk. Thai visa applications from India are made online at thaievisa.go.th. The embassy fee table lists the tourist visa at INR 3,000 single entry.
• Business travellers: be careful. The embassy's visa page mentions "tourism and short-term business," but the September announcement says tourism only. Until the embassy clarifies this, the safe advice for meetings and conferences is a Non-Immigrant B visa.
• TDAC on every entry. The Thailand Digital Arrival Card is filed online at tdac.immigration.go.th before arrival. The official site charges no fee, so warn customers about look-alike sites that do. Add it to the pre-departure message next to web check-in, and ask the customer to check the TDAC site for the exact timing (currently given as within three days before arrival).

Immigration may also ask for a passport valid for six months, a confirmed return ticket, hotel proof and funds. Tell customers to carry printouts.

Malaysia: free until 31 December 2026, then check again

The High Commission of Malaysia in New Delhi confirms that the visa waiver for Indian nationals has been extended until 31 December 2026. It allows stays of up to 30 days for business, tourism, social or transit purposes, but not for work. The listed requirements are a passport valid for six months, a confirmed return ticket and a confirmed hotel booking. The Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) is compulsory and is submitted online within three days before arrival.

The date matters for anyone selling year-end holidays. A Christmas-to-New-Year trip that returns in January crosses the published end date, and the High Commission has not said how stays that cross it are treated. No extension beyond 2026 has been announced. Don't promise "visa-free" on a trip that crosses 31 December until the High Commission confirms. Stays over 30 days need a visa through the eVISA portal.

Sri Lanka: the ETA is free, but it is still required

Sri Lanka's official ETA portal lists India among 40 countries eligible for a free 30-day tourist ETA with effect from 25 May 2026. Customers hear "free" and assume "nothing to do", but that is wrong. The ETA must still be applied for online at eta.gov.lk before travel. The free scheme covers the tourist ETA only, and business ETAs still carry a fee. The portal does not publish an end date for the free scheme, so check it again for bookings far in the future.

One more line for your checklist: use only the official portal. Many look-alike websites charge a "processing fee" for a free ETA. If a customer has already paid one of them, you will hear about it on the day of travel.

Vietnam: e-visa, and only from the official portal

Vietnam has no visa exemption for Indian ordinary passports. Indians apply for the e-visa on the national portal, evisa.gov.vn. When our team last checked, the portal listed the e-visa as valid for up to 90 days, single or multiple entry. It also listed a government fee of USD 25 for single entry and USD 50 for multiple entry, which is non-refundable if the visa is refused. Entry must be through a designated border gate. The application needs a passport data-page scan and a photo on a white background.

As with Sri Lanka, the main risk is fake sites. Make "official portal only" a line on the checklist, and print the e-visa for the customer.

Indonesia: e-VOA online, plus the All Indonesia arrival card

India is on Indonesia's visa-on-arrival list. The same visa can be bought online in advance as an e-VOA at evisa.imigrasi.go.id. The Directorate General of Immigration lists the fee as IDR 500,000 (card charges extra), a 30-day stay, and 90-day validity from issue. Customers can apply up to 14 days before travel, and the site advises applying at least 48 hours before departure. Extensions are handled at an immigration office, not online.

Two more items for the Bali checklist. The All Indonesia arrival card at allindonesia.imigrasi.go.id is filed before arrival. Bali's provincial government also charges a separate tourist levy of IDR 150,000 per foreign tourist through Love Bali. Customers who budgeted only for the visa should know about both.

Turkey: the e-visa depends on another visa

Turkey is often quoted as an "e-visa country". For Indians, that is only partly true. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Indian ordinary passport holders need a visa, and can get a single-entry e-visa valid for one month through evisa.gov.tr only if they hold a valid Schengen, USA, UK or Ireland visa or residence permit and meet the other conditions. The Turkish Embassy in New Delhi adds that the supporting visa must be valid on the day of entry, that e-visas from other countries do not count, and that the original must be carried.

Everyone else needs a sticker visa through the Gateway visa application centres. Gateway's checklist says to apply no more than 60 days ahead and, in principle, at least 12 working days before departure. Ask "do you hold a Schengen, US, UK or Irish visa?" before you quote Turkey, not after.

UAE: no visa-free entry, but two routes

Indian ordinary passports do not get visa-free entry to the UAE. The standard route is still an electronic tourist visa sponsored by a licensed UAE tourism company, hotel or airline, issued by email. The other route is the ICP's 60-day visa. The ICP lists Indian nationals holding a valid visa, residence permit or US green card issued by the US, an EU country or the UK, or by Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Singapore or New Zealand. For entry on arrival, GDRFA Dubai's list is narrower (residence, not visit visas), so confirm with the airline. It is single entry, cannot be extended, and must be used within 30 days of issue.

A warning for this one: the authorities describe the on-arrival option differently. GDRFA Dubai's page for Indian citizens lists a US green card or UK/EU residence, while the ICP lists US/EU/UK visas too. Some 2026 media reports also question UK eligibility. If a customer is relying on a UK visit visa, confirm with the airline before they fly.

Why "last checked" matters more than "who told you"

Every change above was announced by an official body, but changes like these are easy to miss until a customer or supplier mentions them. A checklist without a date on it is a liability. Two habits help:

• Write the source and the date next to every rule. "Thailand 30 days, Thai Embassy New Delhi, checked 18 Oct" is a rule you can defend. "Thailand is free" is not.
• Check the rule against the travel dates, not today's date. Malaysia is the clear example: the waiver is valid today, but it may not cover a January return.

How TourBrain helps you keep up

TourBrain's visa desk includes a requirement check covering 80+ destinations for Indian passports. When you add destinations on a lead, a visa hint appears for each country. Every rule is shown with its official source and the date it was last checked. Rules that are still under review are marked "Unverified - check embassy" and show no facts, so nobody on your team reads a draft as an answer. Each result also carries a reminder to verify with the embassy or official portal.

The check uses the trip dates. If a rule ends before the trip ends, as with a Malaysia booking returning after 31 December 2026, it is flagged so you can check what applies then. Conditions such as "stay over 30 days" or "holds a Schengen visa" are shown on the rule. Your agency can add its own notes for a destination, and your visa team can press Report outdated on any rule when they see an embassy change before we do.

The visa desk is part of Growth and above (see pricing), and every new workspace gets it during the 14-day trial. If you also handle visas for company travellers, see the corporate travel module. Start 14-day trial.

Last updated: 18 October 2026. Visa rules change without notice. This post is general information for travel agency staff, not visa advice. Always confirm requirements with the embassy or official portal before your customer travels.