Passengers from 6 nations must show Covid-negative report to visit India

India today announced international passengers from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand will be required to undergo RT-PCR tests before they depart the countries and upload Covid-negative RT-PCR test report.

The new rule, announced by the Indian health ministry, will be effective from January 1 as India ramped up measures to combat a possible spread of the virus because of the surge in China and some other countries, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The RT-PCR negative report should be uploaded on the Air Suvidha portal from January 1, 2023, and the test should be conducted within 72 hours of undertaking the journey to India, the ministry said in a statement.

The mandatory RT-PCR negative report requirement is in addition to the random two percent tests of all international passengers on all incoming international flights on their arrival to India irrespective of the port of departure.

"This is being done because of the evolving Covid-19 situation across the world, particularly in the countries mentioned above," the statement added.