The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) refreshed its India travel advisory on 22 July 2026, adding three items that global-mobility teams must note: guidance on India’s new electronic Overseas Citizen of India (e-OCI) cards, mandatory Ebola screening, and a Self-Declaration Form for all international arrivals. e-OCI: Britain’s sizeable 720,000-strong OCI community is switching from physical stickers to digitally-verifiable cards introduced on 8 July. The FCDO warns travellers to carry a printed QR confirmation until Indian immigration e-gates are fully upgraded—a process expected to last through December. Health: In response to isolated Ebola cases in West Africa, India’s Ministry of Health now requires thermal screening and health-questionnaire submission for passengers transiting through affected countries. Airlines must segregate symptomatic flyers and report them in-flight to Delhi’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme. Formalities: All passengers—regardless of nationality—must upload a Self-Declaration Form on the Air Suvidha portal within 72 hours of departure, re-instating a COVID-era measure to capture travel history and contact details. Failure can mean airport delays or, in rare cases, denied boarding. Business impact: UK firms sending staff to India’s monsoon procurement season must bake extra processing time into itineraries and remind dual-nationals to update their OCI credentials. Mobility managers should also alert assignees about potential temperature-checks and longer queues at Mumbai and Bengaluru, where pilot Ebola-screening desks are already live.
