India to offer e-visas to Filipinos for free
Filipinos will be able to travel to India more easily as the country is offering free e-visas to Filipino tourists in a move to boost tourism and connection between the two countries.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the news following his bilateral meeting with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who is staying there for five days for a state visit.
"India and the Philippines are friends by choice and partners by destiny. From the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, we are united by shared values. Ours is not just a friendship of the past, it is a promise to the future," Modi stated.
With this, both countries are set to launch direct flights between Manila and Delhi sometime this year to enhance connectivity.
"It is a matter of pleasure that today we have decided to elevate our relations to the status of a strategic partnership. A comprehensive action plan has also been formulated to translate the potential of this partnership into results," Modi said.
Marcos, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude to Modi for the e-visa scheme and encouraged Indians to visit the Philippines.
"I thank PM Modi for the introduction of a scheme to grant visa-free of charge to Philippine tourists travelling to India. We welcome the resumption of direct flights from October this year and renewed our commitment to sustaining and expanding such direct air connectivity," Marcos said.
"For the Philippines, this is a momentous decision for we take a very considered path to such elevated partnerships. This new apex attests as much to the remarkably rapid growth, broadening and deepening of our 75-year-old bilateral relationship," he continued.
Air India previously announced that it will launch non-stop flights between Delhi and Manila starting Oct. 1 later this year. With this, they have become the only carrier to operate non-stop flights between India and the Philippines.
Air India’s service to Manila will operate five days a week—on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays—using the airline’s Airbus A321neo aircraft, featuring a three-class cabin configuration that offers the choice of Business Class, Premium Economy Class, and Economy Class to travellers.
According to the Department of Tourism, nearly 80,000 Indian nationals visited the Philippines in 2024, a 12% increase compared to the previous year.
