India to Issue e-Visa for Medical Tourists of 150 Countries: Facts of Indian Medical Tourism
The gradual extension of e-visa or visa on arrival to 150 countries across the world has started benefiting India Tourism by increasing the number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) from 7.29 lakh in March 2015 to 8.17 lakh in March 2016. Inbound tourism to India grew by 12.1% during the March 2015 — March 2016 period. The latest announcement to issue special e-visas for medical patients from 150 countries will further accentuate the growth of inbound tourism to India in the coming years.
The Indian government plans to issue e-visas to the nationals of nearly 150 countries including the US, the UK, the UAE and Asian countries for medical treatment in India. It will help them seek prolonged medical treatment at government-recognized healthcare centers across the country. Patients from those countries eligible for Indian e-tourist visas can apply online for medical e-visa to India by submitting scanned copies of their medical prescriptions and reports issued by government-certified hospitals in their countries.
Initially, short-term medical visas with 30-day validity period from the date of arrival will be issued to applicants. The validity may be extended up to one year upon submission of medical proofs ascertaining patients’ need to stay for prolonged treatment in India. Further extension of medical e-visas to India will also depend on approval from the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs.
The existing procedure of applying for a medical visa to India is convoluted and cumbersome. Currently, foreign patients seeking medical treatment in India go online to book appointments at Indian embassies in their countries. It takes several weeks or even a month to get a confirmed appointment. Besides this, patients are required to visit Indian embassies in person on confirmed dates of appointments. The procedure does not end here. Patients need to seek letters or certificates from the Indian hospitals of their choice or where possible treatment is available and furnish the same during their visit to Indian embassies.
Evidently, the Indian government’s latest plan to issue e-visa for medical tourists will not only ease the procedure but also boost medical tourism in India. It will enable foreign tourists to apply for medical e-visas and pay the fees online. Applicants will be notified about confirmation via email within 3 to 5 working days.
India’s medical tourism industry is currently worth $3 billion. It is expected to touch $8 billion by 2020. Medical treatment in India is much cheaper than that in the US, Europe, Japan and Australia. According to a white paper by Grand Thornton, about 80% of medical tourists across the globe are conscious about medical expenses and treatment quality. One-tenth of the cost of medical treatment in the US or the UK is the beginning of treatment costs in India.
Despite cost-effective yet quality medical treatment and healthcare facilities, India is in stiff competition with South East Asian countries: Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan. The initiation of e-visas for medical tourists will take India ahead in medical tourism. The most sought-after medical treatments in India are alternative medicine, cardiac bypass surgery, bone-marrow transplant, hip resurfacing and eye surgery.
However, the future of India’s medical tourism looks not as rosy as it is predicted or expected to be if some concerns by medical tourism experts are taken into consideration. The most serious concern is that India has no specific medical tourism website what foreign medical tourists can look up to for all relevant facts and figures like law on organ transplants. The medical tourism sector is not organized in India. For instance, there is no single-key access to all information about available medical treatments and healthcare facilities across India. Middlemen take advantage of it for monetary gains from medical tourists in India, which pushes up costs for the latter.
According to India’s medical tourism experts, multiple entry e-visas should be issued to foreign medical tourists, government should keep a special check on exploitation by middlemen and a proper medical tourism website streamlining access to information of treatments, costs and facilities at government-recognized hospitals should be in place. Implementation of these measures along with proposed e-visa for medical tourists will take India’s medical tourism in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi to the next level.
