Where an Indian passport takes you without a visa — and the fine print

Visa-free entry

You arrive, present your passport, and receive a stamp. No application, no fee. Conditions still apply — usually a return ticket, accommodation and funds — and the permitted stay is set by the officer. Several of these arrangements for Indian nationals are granted for fixed periods and renewed, rather than being permanent, so the destination that was visa-free last year may not be next year.

Visa on arrival

You still need a visa; you just buy it at the airport instead of in advance. It is not automatic. Counters run out of time before flights depart, payment systems fail, and eligibility often depends on holding a visa from a third country — Egypt, for instance, extends visa on arrival mainly to travellers holding a valid Schengen, US, UK, Canadian, Australian or Japanese visa.

Electronic authorisation and e-visas

An ETA or e-visa must be obtained before departure and is checked by the airline before boarding. Sri Lanka's ETA and Vietnam's e-visa fall here. They are quick, but 'quick' means one to five working days, not one hour, and a rejected application close to departure leaves no time to fix it.

The conditions nobody reads

• •Passport validity of six months beyond arrival, at nearly every destination
• •A confirmed return or onward ticket within the permitted period
• •Proof of accommodation for at least the first night
• •Sufficient funds, sometimes a published amount per day
• •An arrival card or digital declaration, which several countries now require separately from the visa

The practical rule

Check the destination's own immigration website in the week you book, and again in the week you fly. Arrangements affecting Indian passport holders have changed with little notice in both directions in recent years, and an article — including this one — is a starting point, never the authority.