A raft of new visa and entry regulations took effect today across the United States, Australia, Japan and Vietnam—each with implications for Indian citizens planning business or leisure trips in the second half of 2026. • United States: The State Department has launched a six-month pilot offering expedited B-1/B-2 visa appointments for an additional US $750. Applicants are promised an interview slot within 10 working days but still face standard security vetting. Travel managers expect high take-up among last-minute conference attendees and relatives rushing for family emergencies. • Australia: Canberra has indexed the salary thresholds that underpin employer-sponsored visas. The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) now stands at AUD 79,499, while the Specialist Skills bar rises to AUD 146,717. Indian firms seconding staff to Australian subsidiaries must review nomination budgets and, in some cases, offer raises to meet the higher floor. Indian travelers who find the patchwork of new rules daunting can outsource the paperwork: VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) offers step-by-step application support for U.S., Australian, Japanese and Vietnamese visas, tracks changing fees in real time, and provides live chat with immigration specialists, saving corporate mobility teams and holidaymakers valuable hours. • Japan: Tokyo has quintupled its standard visa fee for most nationalities, but Indian passport-holders remain exempt under the 2016 bilateral fee-waiver. Travel agents warn that mixed-nationality tour groups will encounter differential pricing. • Vietnam: All inbound, outbound and transit passengers must complete a digital health declaration within seven days of travel. Airlines have been told to deny boarding to non-compliant travellers. Taken together, the measures illustrate how fragmented post-pandemic migration regimes remain. Corporates with multinational project teams should update pre-trip checklists and budget for higher processing costs in the US and Australia, while ensuring staff flying via Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City complete the new health form.
