India revises international travel advisory, exemption for Indians returning from Ukraine

Amid the raging military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, several Indians are stranded in the east European country.

India is leaving no stone unturned in bringing back Indian nationals and is leading the evacuation mission.

Amid the raging military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, several Indians are stranded in the east European country. India on Monday revised international travel advisory, providing various exemptions to Indians being evacuated from war-hit Ukraine.

As per the new advisory, mandatory pre-boarding negative RT-PCR test and vaccination certificate have been exempted for Indians. Uploading documents before departure on Air-Suvidha Portal has also been exempted.

In case a traveller is not able to submit a pre-arrival RTPCR test or has not completed their Covid-19 vaccination, they are allowed to submit their samples on arrival with the advice to self-monitor their health for 14 days after arrival in India, the ministry said in a statement.

Large diasporas of Indian nationals (mainly students) have found themselves embroiled in the political turmoil being faced by the country. Direct evacuation of these stranded Indians through flights could not be carried out in view of the Notice to Airmen or Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) issued in Ukraine.

As of February 28, 1156 Indians from Ukraine have arrived in India with none of the passengers kept under isolation.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be sending four Union Ministers to neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate evacuations of stranded Indians amid ongoing Russian military operations in Ukraine, according to government sources.

Further, the Indian embassy in Ukraine today informed that the weekend curfew has been lifted in Kyiv. The embassy said that Ukraine Railways is putting special trains for evacuations and advised all students to make their way to the railway station for a journey to the western parts.