New Delhi: Last year more than 15 lakh foreigners came to India, the Ministry of Home Affairs said. Most of the foreign arrivals in the country are American citizens. 4.29 lakh Americans came to India in 2021. Second place belongs to Bangladesh. 2.4 Bangladeshi nationals visited India. The third position is given to Britain, fourth and fifth positions to Canada and Nepal respectively. It is also noteworthy that more than 15 lakh foreigners came to India at a time when visa restrictions were tight due to the Covid pandemic.
From January 1 to December 31, 2021, 15,24,469 foreign nationals have arrived in India. 74.39 percent of foreigners who came to India are from 10 countries. People from Afghanistan, Australia, Germany, Portugal and France have also arrived.
All international flights have been suspended from March 25 to April 21, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The government had announced a gradual resumption of flight services from June 2020, but restrictions continued into the early months of 2021. In March 2021, the MHA re-established the e-Visa system for citizens of 156 countries. Later, tourist and e-tourist visas were also allowed from October 15.