COVID-19: Impact on Expats living and travelling to India – Update

India is currently facing a second wave of Covid-19 cases, which has prompted the government to impose lockdown measures across the country. Many states have imposed partial curfews while some have enforced week-long lockdowns to arrest the rise in cases. 

India launched its vaccination drive on 16th of January, restricting it to healthcare workers and frontline staff – a sanitation worker became the first Indian to receive the vaccine. The drive gradually expanded to other age groups – and from 1st of May, all citizens above 18 years of age will be able to receive the vaccine shots. There are no plans yet to vaccinate pregnant women and children. For expats, vaccination is currently being provided only to diplomats of foreign missions and their family members.

In early April, India declared it was “the fastest country in the world” to give over 100 million jabs. It achieved the feat in 85 days, whereas the US took 89 days and China 102 days, the health ministry said.

India is currently giving jabs of two vaccines – one developed by AstraZeneca with Oxford University (Covishield) and one by Indian firm Bharat Biotech (Covaxin). Both were approved in January ahead of the vaccine rollout and both are being manufactured in India.

In April, a third vaccine – Russia’s Sputnik V – was approved for emergency use. Several other candidates are at different stages of trials. India placed a temporary hold on all exports of AstraZeneca’s Covishield to meet domestic demand but the vaccine’s maker Serum Institute of India (SII) recently said its production capacity was “very stressed” and that it was “still short of being able to supply to every Indian”.

Destination Services:

Local and International Schools in India remain closed indefinitely until further orders are received from the Directorate of Education. Online resources are made available to the students via Virtual Private Network. Many schools have started conducting classes over video conferencing solutions to ensure there is no major impact on the students. The administrative staff of schools will continue to work from home.

The current lockdowns and curfews have put restrictions on property inspections and move-ins. Many housing societies are disallowing any outside vendors or new tenants to move into the apartment during the lockdown period. Therefore, any pending repair work or home improvements cannot be completed till the time the restrictions are lifted. Also, the government offices are working with minimal staff hence there is a delay in completing the lease registration process. 

Immigration Services: 

In-country Visa services which are rendered through FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) are ongoing and active. All these services are online. However, personal visits to the FRRO are only with prior appointments. Currently, most of the Consular Visa applications for most of the countries have been suspended until further notice. It is mandatory to get a RT-PCR test done before 72 hours of arrival into India. The Government of India has opened up all the visa categories except Tourist visas (both electronic and regular) and Visa on arrival. Rest all the visas are being processed through Indian Missions abroad. 

Travel Restrictions: 

Many international flights are operating in India through the air bubble agreement. The UK, Singapore, New Zealand, Oman, Kuwait, the UAE, Iran, Hong Kong, Germany and Canada have imposed restrictions on passengers arriving from India by allowing only citizens to enter their borders. Even passengers who have been to India in the previous 14 days or are transiting through an airport in India are not allowed to enter. 

Other countries such as France have imposed a strict quarantine routine for passengers arriving from India, while the US has issued an advisory asking people not to travel to India, even if fully vaccinated. Australia, on the other hand, has said that it will restrict the number of its citizens that can enter its borders from India. For domestic travel in India, many cities have imposed quarantine rules and made it mandatory to have a negative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction  (RTPCR) result to enter the city. 

Buying Essentials: 

Local markets are operating under strict time slots, however, online grocers are encouraged in large cities. To reduce the number of outsiders who enter the apartment, deliveries are being kept at the gate and the residents are informed about the collection. Local grocery stores and medical stores are operating for fixed hours to provide supplies to the residents in the neighbourhood.

Fleet Services: 

Formula cars continue to seek guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Complying with all Central and State Government directives, we continue to support our clients in need of essential medical emergencies or airport travels.

Formula Group will continue to monitor the rapidly evolving situation surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak and share regular communication and updates as the situation evolves.