If one of your biggest goals for this new year happens to be travelling more, these latest visa updates are a must-know! Travel in 2025 is going to be easier for Indian travellers in so many ways. Not only as a country we have climbed a few points in the Passport Index, but also will be extending better services for many more countries. And in case you want to travel in 2025 and haven’t figured out a destination yet, these latest visa updates can help you pick one as well.
1. Thailand announces E-Visa
To ease your travel plans further, Thailand has now announced an E-Visa service, that one can avail starting from January 1st, 2025. The announcement was made by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the digital platform will let you apply seamlessly for an E-Visa that will be sent to you via email upon approval and can be presented at the time of arrival in Thailand.
While for Indian travellers, Thailand offers visa-free entry for shorter durations, anything beyond 60 days will need a prior visa, and the newly launched E-Visa services will make that quite simple.
2. Malaysia extends its visa-free policy
For Indian travellers, Malaysia offers visa-free entry, and while originally it was valid till December 2024, it has now been extended till December 2026. This means that if Malaysia was on your travel in 2025 bucket list, you can still make a trip without having to wonder about the visa hassles, as long as the prior conditions are being fulfilled. The trip needs to be less than 30 days, with a valid passport, proof of accommodation, confirmed return tickets, and proof of financial sufficiency.
3. US visa wait times to get shorter
Out of all the visa news, the topic that is often most looked up is the latest news on US visa, and it is easy to see why. US visa updates are hard to come by, and the interview slots are very few. This is about to change for Indian travellers now. US visa wait times are now expected to get shorter because beginning January 1, non-immigrant US visa applicants can reschedule their interview appointment once without incurring any fees, which will streamline the entire process.
4. China extends visa fee reductions for Indians
In December, the Chinese embassy announced that the country has extended the visa fee reductions for Indians till December 31st, 2025. The country has been working on streamlining the travel procedure for foreigners visiting China, and these visa updates first came into the picture to smoothen the Indo-Chinese tensions.
5. Zimbabwe starts e-visa for Indians
In other visa updates, Zimbabwe, after a long time has restarted E-Visa services for 118 countries, including India. Before this, the travellers would have to get visa on arrival but now they can apply for an e-visa and get it beforehand.
6. Indians to travel to Russia visa-free starting in 2025
Russia has seen the number of Indian tourists increase steadily in past few years, and these visa updates will only help with that. Starting in 2025, Indians will be able to visit Russia visa-free. Since August 1, 2023, Indian travellers have been able to apply for a unified e-visa (UEV), which typically takes about four days to process but starting sometime in March 2025, the process is expected to be visa-free.