The Indian government came ahead with the new transformation in the medical tourism landscape by announcing a transitional visa-on-arrival policy for the US and European travellers to make the reach of the best-in-class wellness retreats and health treatments more hassle-free in every way. This move focuses on discarding the clumsy visa application process, enabling international patient groups to get their entry permits straight at the airport without any interruption.
Alongside, to measure a worthy journey for those people searching for quality and affordable medical care. Where India is famous for rich wellness traditions and advanced healthcare facilities, this new policy will make way for many countries to become leaders in medical tourism globally. Europe and the US stand tall with India’s new policy standards.
At the CII Health Summit, Minister Goyal stressed the worldwide opportunity for medical tourism as the global market for medical tourism is approximately $800 billion and might reach around $1 trillion with the valuable integration of fitness and wellness services.
With this proposed policy, the wait time for the visa approval process will be mitigated, which was once clumsy and delayed. On arrival at a major Indian airport, the travellers will get their entry permit at the airport counter directly without a time extension to the primary administrative activity. This change will identify the common and major pain for medical travellers, tired of the struggle for visa approval. Those international medical travellers travelling for critical surgeries, wellness retreats and specialist care will be relieved by this approach, as this will ease the overall process.
Currently, the proposed visa-on-arrival scheme is under examination. The international patients will be following the existing visa process till the new policy is officially confirmed for wellness and medical travel. The different types of visas under this policy are Medical Visa (MV), e-Medical Visa, and e-Medical Attendant Visa. Each Visa holds a mandate, major key requirements to precisely the policy structure resonating to the type one is opting for.
The US, Europe and many other international countries planning for a wellness or medical trip to India will soon travel and reach to the valuable healthcare point of growth and development to experience benefits two-way for India and other countries as well. This will not only polish the future of India’s Medical Tourism but also migrate new healthcare businesses overseas with international partnerships and more.
Mansi Kadam is a market research writer with over 3 years of experience analyzing trends in the healthcare industry. At Towards Healthcare, she covers innovations in medical sector, sustainability initiatives, and the evolving regulatory landscape.
