Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh today informed the Rajya Sabha that 16 countries provide free visa-free entry to Indian passport holders. In a written reply, he said 40 countries provide visa-on-arrival facilities and 47 countries provide e-visa facilities to Indian passport holders. He said the centre has been continuously making efforts to increase the number of countries that may provide visa-free entry travel, visa-on-arrival and e-visa facilities to Indians for ease of travelling around the world.

The Minister said allowing visa-free entry to foreigners is a sovereign matter of the receiving State.