Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade refreshed its Smartraveller advisory for India on 16 September 2026, retaining the ‘Exercise a High Degree of Caution’ rating but adding two procedural requirements that impact all Australian travellers. First, passengers arriving from Ebola-affected countries must now complete an online health self-declaration within 24 hours of arrival in India. Second, all foreign nationals—including Australians and OCI cardholders—must file India’s e-Arrival Card up to three days before departure. The notice warns that failing to comply could lead to “delays and additional screening at Indian immigration”. Australian corporates with regional shuttle patterns that take staff through West Africa en route to India are advised to build the Ebola form into travel management systems immediately. While India has not reported a domestic Ebola case, health authorities have tightened surveillance amid outbreaks in parts of Central Africa. The advisory also reiterates that Indian authorities accept only e-Visas obtained via the official government site and that presenting an e-Visa at a non-designated port of entry can result in deportation—an issue that surfaced in two documented cases at smaller airports this quarter. For mobility teams, the guidance underscores the need to double-check port eligibility when booking multi-city itineraries that terminate at secondary gateways such as Bhubaneswar or Dehradun. Beyond entry requirements, DFAT maintains warnings against travel to Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur and border areas with Pakistan, citing terrorism and civil unrest. Insurance providers typically exclude cover for trips that ignore such advice, a point HR departments should flag to travellers seeking to add leisure extensions in high-risk regions. Although advisory changes are routine, Australian multinational employers use them as triggers to refresh pre-departure briefings and confirm that travellers have downloaded required documents to their devices given India’s move toward paperless processing.
