May 2026 was a busy month for the Indian passport. Two of the most popular destinations for Indian travellers changed their entry rules within a week of each other — and they moved in opposite directions. Thailand tightened up; Sri Lanka opened up. At the same time, a lot of the “90 days visa-free” numbers floating around online are simply wrong: most of these destinations give Indians far less than 90 days. Here is what is actually true now, each fact dated and sourced.
Thailand: visa-free is gone — it’s a paid 15-day visa on arrival now
This is the big one. On 19 May 2026 the Thai cabinet resolved to cancel the 60-day visa-exemption scheme that had covered more than 90 countries, and India was moved out of visa-free entry and back into the visa-on-arrival (VoA) category. For Indian passport holders that means: no more 60-day free stamp. You now get a Thailand Visa on Arrival with a maximum stay of 15 days, a fee of THB 2,000 (THB 2,200 for the express counter), single entry, and it cannot be extended for tourism. India was placed in the VoA-only tier alongside just a handful of others. You must still complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online before you fly, and may be asked to show THB 10,000 per person (THB 20,000 per family) in funds.
If 15 days is not enough — which it often isn’t for a multi-city Thailand trip — the answer is to apply for a 60-day tourist visa (or the e-Visa) at a Thai embassy before you travel, rather than relying on arrival. Because this rule took effect on publication in the Royal Gazette and is still settling, always confirm the current status on the official Royal Thai immigration / e-Visa portal before booking. Our Thailand from India page now reflects the 15-day VoA.
Sri Lanka: the ETA is now free
Good news in the other direction. From 25 May 2026 Sri Lanka scrapped the processing fee on its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for visitors from around 40 countries, India included. Indian travellers still need to obtain an ETA before flying — but it is now free of charge, valid for a 30-day stay, with double entry (you can leave and come back once inside the 30-day window). Apply only on the official portal, eta.gov.lk, to avoid third-party “service” charges. See the Sri Lanka ETA from India page.
The “90 days” myth: the real stay limits
A lot of listicles quote a flat “90 days visa-free” for Indians almost everywhere. That is rarely the actual cap. Here are the verified maximum stays for the destinations Indians visit most, as of June 2026:
- Malaysia — visa-free 30 days (visa-waiver extended to 31 December 2026); the pass cannot be extended in-country. Submit the MDAC online before arrival.
- Maldives — free 30-day Visa on Arrival, extendable to 60; complete the IMUGA declaration before you fly.
- Indonesia (incl. Bali) — not visa-free: a Visa on Arrival / e-VOA of 30 days, extendable once to 60, costing about IDR 500,000 (≈ USD 35).
- Hong Kong — visa-free 14 days per visit, but only after a mandatory (free) online Pre-Arrival Registration valid for 6 months.
- Qatar — free 30-day visa waiver on arrival, extendable once for a further 30 days.
- Mauritius — free entry on arrival for up to 60 days for tourism.
- Thailand — now 15 days, paid visa on arrival (see above).
- Sri Lanka — 30 days, double-entry, free ETA required (see above).
Why the exact number matters
Stay limits are not trivia. Overstaying — even by a day, even visa-free — can mean fines, deportation and a re-entry ban, and several of these countries make you leave and re-enter rather than extend in place. Booking a 25-day Thailand itinerary on the assumption of a 60-day free stamp, or a four-week Hong Kong trip expecting 90 days, is exactly the kind of mistake a wrong “90 days” figure causes. That is why we corrected every one of these India pairs against official and policy-table sources and dated each fact.
How we keep this honest
Visa rules — especially fast-moving ones like Thailand’s — are dangerous to get wrong, so we verify each country pair against the destination government’s own portal or its published policy table, record the maximum stay and conditions, and date the check. Where a rule is recent or still settling (Thailand’s, here), we say so and point you to the official source to confirm before you book. The full method is in our Editorial & Data Standards, and you can see every destination we cover for the Indian passport on the India passport overview.