Visa-free does not mean paperwork-free. Most of the countries below now ask for an online arrival card, a return ticket and a hotel booking, and immigration officers at Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok do check. This guide is the version our desk in Hyderabad works from, checked on 13 October 2026 against official portals and airline pages. Rules move quickly, so we confirm the current position for your dates before any booking.
What changed in 2026
- Thailand cut the visa-exempt stay for Indians from 60 to 30 days for arrivals from 15 September 2026. The Thailand Digital Arrival Card is mandatory and exempt entries by land are capped at two a year.
- Sri Lanka made its 30-day tourist ETA free for Indians from 25 May 2026, announced as a six-month pilot. The ETA still has to be obtained online before you fly.
- Malaysia extended its 30-day visa exemption for Indians to 31 December 2026. No extension beyond that has been announced yet.
- Kazakhstan added India to its 14-day visa-free list, capped at 42 days in any 180.
- Iran suspended its 15-day visa waiver from 22 November 2025, so a visa is required again.
- Bolivia moved Indians from visa on arrival to an advance visa through the embassy.
- Georgia made health and accident insurance mandatory for all visitors from 1 January 2026.
- The UAE widened its conditional visa on arrival in June 2026 to a 14-day permit, extendable once, or a 60-day single-entry permit, for Indians holding qualifying US, UK or EU documents. A reported change affecting UK residence-permit holders had not taken effect at the time of writing; confirm at the desk.
- Uzbekistan announced a 30-day visa-free regime for Indians in August 2026, but no decree or start date had been published when we checked. Until it is, Indians need the e-visa unless they hold a valid multiple-entry US, UK, Schengen or Japan visa.
Visa-free: walk up to the counter
Tourism only, ordinary passports, and in every case a passport valid for six months, a return or onward ticket and somewhere to stay. Where a pre-arrival form exists, file it; airlines check it at the Hyderabad gate.
| Country | Stay | Before you fly | Nonstop from Hyderabad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | 30 days (from 15 Sep 2026) | Thailand Digital Arrival Card within 72 hours | Bangkok and Phuket |
| Malaysia | 30 days, to 31 Dec 2026 | Malaysia Digital Arrival Card within 3 days; hotel and return ticket checked | Kuala Lumpur |
| Nepal | No limit; open border | None; passport or voter ID | None (via Delhi or Kolkata) |
| Bhutan | Entry permit on the day | Sustainable Development Fee registration | None |
| Mauritius | Up to 90 days (some sources say 60; check) | All-in-one travel form | None |
| Seychelles | Up to 90 days on a visitor's permit | Seychelles Travel Authorisation, mandatory | None |
| Kazakhstan | 14 days (42 in 180) | Return ticket | None |
| Qatar | 30 days, extendable once | Confirmed hotel and return ticket | Doha |
| Philippines | 14 days; 30 with a valid US, UK, Schengen, Japan, Australia, Canada or Singapore visa | eTravel registration; hotel, ticket and funds asked | None |
| Hong Kong | 14 days per visit | Pre-Arrival Registration online, printed slip | Hong Kong |
| Macau | 30 days | None | None |
| Fiji | 4 months | None | None |
| Jamaica, Barbados, Dominica | 30 to 180 days depending on the island; check | Return ticket | None |
| Angola | 30 days per trip, 90 a year | Hotel, return ticket, yellow-fever certificate | None |
Visa on arrival: a counter at the airport
| Country | Stay | Before you fly | Nonstop from Hyderabad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maldives | 30 days, free | Imuga Traveller Declaration within 96 hours; prepaid booking | Malé |
| Indonesia (Bali) | 30 days, extendable once | All Indonesia Arrival Card within 72 hours; e-VoA optional | None (via Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok) |
| Cambodia | 30 days | Optional e-visa; photo and return ticket | None |
| Laos | 30 days | Optional e-visa for the main ports; photo | None |
| Jordan | 30 days (longer stamps reported from 2026; check) | Optional e-visa; the Jordan Pass covers the visa | None |
| Rwanda | 30 days, free for Commonwealth passports | Optional online application | None |
| Tanzania | Up to 90 days | E-visa recommended; yellow-fever certificate if arriving from an endemic area | None |
| Madagascar | Up to 90 days | Optional e-visa; return ticket | None |
E-visa or online authorisation before you fly
These are quick, but they are still applications, and a refused or mistyped one is a refused boarding. Our desk files them with the passport scan checked first.
| Country | Stay | Where it is filed | Nonstop from Hyderabad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sri Lanka | 30 days, double entry, free since 25 May 2026 | Official ETA portal | Colombo |
| Vietnam | Up to 90 days, single or multiple entry | Official e-visa portal; 3 working days official, allow a week | Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City |
| Kenya | Up to 90 days | Official eTA portal | None |
| Azerbaijan | 30 days | ASAN e-visa portal; enter and leave by air | None |
| Georgia | 30 days (visa-free 90 days with a valid US, UK, Schengen or GCC visa) | Official e-visa portal; insurance mandatory from 2026 | None |
| Uzbekistan | 30 days | Official e-visa portal (visa-free regime announced, not yet in force) | None |
| Morocco | 30 days | Official e-visa portal; hotel booking | None |
| Oman | 10 to 30 days | Royal Oman Police e-visa portal | Muscat |
| Taiwan | 14 days (30 by some sources; check) | Travel Authorisation Certificate, only with a valid or recently expired visa from the US, Japan, Schengen, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Korea | None |
Only with a US, UK or Schengen visa already in your passport
A growing group of countries waive or simplify their visa for Indians who hold a valid visa or residence permit from a major Western country. The qualifying document must itself be valid, often for six months, on the day you land.
- UAE: visa on arrival, 14 days extendable once or 60 days single entry, for holders of a valid US visa or green card, an EU or UK visa or residence permit, or residence in Japan, Korea, Australia, Canada, Singapore or New Zealand. Everyone else needs a pre-arranged e-visa; our UAE visa desk explains the rules.
- Turkey: single-entry 30-day e-visa only with a valid Schengen, US, UK or Irish visa or residence permit; otherwise a sticker visa.
- Egypt: e-visa, or visa on arrival only with a valid, used US, UK or Schengen visa, or through an Egyptian tour operator.
- Georgia: 90 days visa-free with a valid US, UK, Schengen or GCC visa or residence.
- Philippines: 30 days instead of 14 with a valid US, UK, Schengen, Japan, Australia, Canada or Singapore visa.
- Oman: 14 days visa-free with a valid US, UK, Schengen, Canada, Australia or Japan visa or GCC residence. A free 14-day tourist visa announced in August 2026 had not published its eligible-country list; Indians were not confirmed on it.
- Taiwan: the free online Travel Authorisation Certificate, as above.
Still a full visa, filed in advance
Japan, South Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and every Schengen country still require a visa decided before travel, with biometrics for most of them. Japan has moved tourists to a single-entry e-visa lodged through VFS, and Australia's subclass 600 is filed online, but neither is visa on arrival. These are the files our desk handles most: see the Schengen, UK, US, Australia and Japan pages for the checklist and timeline of each.
Nonstop from Hyderabad in 2026
Rajiv Gandhi International connects nonstop to Bangkok and Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Malé, Doha, Muscat, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, Hong Kong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Addis Ababa and Singapore, among others. For a visa-free or on-arrival trip that means Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Qatar, Hong Kong and, with the right document, the UAE and Oman are all a single flight away. Bali still means one stop through Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok, and so does most of Africa.
Before you book: the five things that go wrong
- Passport validity. Six months beyond the entry date is the working rule everywhere on this list, and airlines enforce it at check-in in Hyderabad.
- Arrival cards. Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives, Indonesia, the Philippines and Hong Kong all want an online form before you land. Each traveller, including children, needs their own.
- Return ticket and hotel. Visa-free entry is a discretion, not a right. Carry printed confirmations; refusals at Kuala Lumpur for travellers without them are reported every month.
- Purpose. Every exemption above is for tourism. Business meetings, study or work need the proper visa even for a short stay.
- Counting days. Thailand's 30 days start on the day you land and the 90-in-180 rule applies across Schengen; a missed flight is still an overstay.
Note. This list reflects the rules our desk could verify on 13 October 2026 from official portals, embassy notices and airline pages. Entries marked 'check' had conflicting sources. We confirm the current rule for your passport and dates before any booking, and we file the arrival cards and e-visas for every traveller in the group.
Questions we hear at the desk
Which countries can Indians visit without a visa in 2026?
For tourism on an ordinary passport: Thailand (30 days from 15 September 2026), Malaysia (30 days to 31 December 2026), Nepal, Bhutan, Mauritius, Seychelles, Kazakhstan, Qatar, the Philippines, Hong Kong with pre-arrival registration, Macau, Fiji and several Caribbean islands. The Maldives, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Jordan are on arrival or a free online authorisation. Most need an arrival card, a return ticket and a hotel booking.
Is Thailand still visa-free for Indians?
Yes, but for 30 days instead of 60 for arrivals from 15 September 2026, and only for tourism. Every traveller must file the Thailand Digital Arrival Card within 72 hours of landing, and immigration can ask for onward tickets and funds. Longer stays need the e-visa.
Do I need a visa for Sri Lanka in 2026?
You need an electronic travel authorisation, but it has been free for Indian tourists since 25 May 2026, giving 30 days with double entry. It must be obtained online before departure; the free period was announced as a six-month pilot, so check the rule for your dates.
Which visa-free countries fly nonstop from Hyderabad?
Thailand (Bangkok and Phuket), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Sri Lanka (Colombo), the Maldives (Malé), Qatar (Doha) and Hong Kong are all nonstop from Rajiv Gandhi International. Vietnam, which needs an e-visa, is nonstop to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and the UAE and Oman are nonstop for travellers who qualify for visa on arrival.
Can I go to Dubai without a visa on an Indian passport?
Only if you hold a valid US visa or green card, an EU or UK visa or residence permit, or residence in Japan, Korea, Australia, Canada, Singapore or New Zealand, with both documents valid for six months. Then you get 14 days on arrival, extendable once, or a 60-day single-entry permit. Everyone else needs a pre-arranged e-visa, which our desk handles in three to five working days.