Asia and Oceania

• Travel Summary
• Safety and security
• Local laws and customs
• Entry requirements

• Health
• Natural disasters
• General
 

Travel Summary

• We advise against all travel to, or through rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir other than Ladakh; all travel in the immediate vicinity of the border with Pakistan (Northern and Western India), other than at the international border crossing at Wagah; and all travel in Manipur and Tripura (East and North East India).  See the specific Local Travel section of this advice for more details.
  
  
• We advise against all but essential travel to Srinagar (Northern India) and Imphal (East and North East India). If you do travel to these areas then you should only do so by air. See the specific Local Travel section of this advice for more details.
  
  
• There is a high general threat from terrorism throughout India. Recent attacks in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad. Hyderabad and Bangalore have targeted public places, including luxury hotels, railway stations, markets and places of worship. Future attacks may target public places frequented by Westerners and expatriates, including in the major metropolitan centres (Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai) and tourist areas such as Goa. You should be extra vigilant around days of national significance, such as Republic Day (26 January), Independence Day (15 August), Ramadan (11 Aug to 9 Sept 2010), Eid (10/11 September 2010) and Diwali (5 November 2010) as terrorists have mounted attacks in these periods in the past.
  
  
• Over 796,000 British tourists visit India every year (source: Bureau of Immigration). Most of these visits are trouble-free.  288 British nationals required consular assistance in India in the period 1 April 2008 – 31 March 2009 for the following types of incident; deaths (123 cases); hospitalisations (55 cases); and arrests, for a variety of offences (40 cases). During this period assistance was also requested with regard to lost or stolen passports (415 cases). 
  
  
• You should keep a photocopy of your passport, Indian visa and flight ticket separate from the originals when travelling.  Register with our LOCATE service to tell us when and where you are travelling abroad or where you live abroad so our consular and crisis staff can provide better assistance to you in an emergency.
  
  
• We recommend that you obtain comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling.  You should check any exclusions, and that your policy covers you for all the activities you want to undertake.  See the General (Insurance) section of this advice and our Travel insurance page for more details.