According to travel booking website Wego, 35 countries had banned travel from India as of May 12 in the light of the overwhelming wave of COVID-19 infections in the country, upending many travel plans.
Especially the extremely strict Australian travel ban has made the headlines as even citizens are not allowed to return to the country and are being threatened with jail terms if they attempt to enter after having been to the subcontinent in the 14 days prior.
Yet, flight bans that exist in several more countries can have a similar affect on citizens or residents trying to return to their home after having been in India, even if they are not explicitly banned from entry. Flights from India are currently suspended to Belgium, Canada, Hong Kong, Kuwait and Iran, among others. Germany, for example, has not halted flights, but only allows German residents and citizens to board them. Long-term visas and student visas will not be honored, however.
Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan have closed air and land borders to arrivals from India. China’s curbs on travel from outside its borders have remained very strict even before India’s second wave and were therefore not tightened further. Travel remains limited to some essential reasons and comes with extensive testing and hotel quarantine requirements.
