Type “how long can Indians stay in [country]” into any search box and a confident “90 days” comes back for almost everywhere. It is one of the most consistently wrong numbers on the travel web. For a lot of the destinations Indians actually visit, the real tourist stay is 30 days or fewer — and a couple that get filed under “visa-free” or “visa on arrival” are nothing of the sort. We re-checked each of these India country-pairs against the destination government’s own portal or its published policy table on 2026-06-20. Here is what is actually true.
The “90 days” that are really 30 (or less)
These are the corrections that catch people out most, because the trip gets planned around a number that does not exist:
- Singapore — you need a visa (applied online through an authorised agent before you fly), and the actual stay is set by the Visit Pass an officer grants at the checkpoint: typically up to 30 days, not 90. You can apply to extend it online via ICA if you need longer.
- Morocco — visa required via the Morocco e-Visa (evis.ma). It is valid 180 days from issue, but each entry permits a stay of up to 30 days, not 90.
- Oman — the Royal Oman Police tourist e-Visa (evisa.rop.gov.om) gives a 30-day stay. A 14-day “visa-free” entry exists but is CONDITIONAL — it only applies to Indians who already hold a valid Australian, Canadian, Japanese, US, UK or Schengen visa. Without one of those, you are not visa-exempt.
- Jordan — the plain visa on arrival gives just 15 days. To get 30 days you buy the Jordan Pass online before you fly (it also waives the visa fee, minimum 3 nights in Jordan) or take the single-entry tourist visa.
Turkey: the e-Visa is conditional, not automatic
Turkey is one of the most-searched destinations for Indian travellers, and the e-Visa is widely misdescribed as a quick formality for everyone. It is not. For an ordinary Indian passport the Turkey e-Visa (evisa.gov.tr) is granted ONLY if you already hold a valid visa or residence permit of the Schengen Area, the USA, the UK or Ireland — which must still be valid when you enter Turkey. With it, the e-Visa is single entry and gives a 30-day stay. Without one of those supporting visas, you cannot use the e-Visa at all and must obtain a consular sticker visa from a Turkish mission. See the Turkey e-Visa for Indians page.
Tunisia: not visa-free, despite the “visa on arrival” label
Tunisia turns up on plenty of “visa on arrival for Indians” lists. For ordinary Indian passport holders it is simply wrong: you must obtain a Tunisia tourist (sticker) visa in advance from a Tunisian embassy or consulate, and consular processing can take around 4–5 weeks. The single exemption is for travellers entering as part of an organised package tour booked through a recognised agency, who may be admitted without an individual visa. If you are travelling independently, budget for the embassy visa. Details on the Tunisia visa for Indians page.
Where 90 days is genuinely correct
Not every “90” is a myth — a few destinations really do give Indians up to 90 days, and it is worth knowing which so you do not under-plan:
- Saudi Arabia — the tourist e-Visa (visa.visitsaudi.com) comes as single-entry 90 days, or a one-year multiple-entry visa allowing up to 90 days per visit. It also covers Umrah outside the Hajj season. Mandatory health insurance is bundled into the fee.
- Kenya — the ETA (etakenya.go.ke) replaced the visa in January 2024; it is single entry and permits a stay of up to 90 days.
- Japan and South Korea — both require a sticker visa obtained before travel (India is NOT eligible for Korea’s K-ETA), and both short-term visitor visas allow up to 90 days.
Bahrain and China: 30 days, not the 90 you read online
Two more of the most-searched “90 days” figures are really the visa’s validity window, not the stay you are allowed:
- Bahrain — the tourist e-Visa (evisa.gov.bh) is valid for about 90 days from issue, but the permitted stay is a maximum of 30 days per visit. The cheapest, most common option is a 14-day single-entry visa, extendable a further 14 days at the NPRA office once you are in Bahrain. See the Bahrain e-Visa for Indians page.
- China — the tourist L visa is usually valid about 3 months, but a single-entry visa permits a stay of only 30 days per entry (a double-entry visa gives 30 days on each entry). The officer stamps the exact period. See the China tourist visa for Indians page.
- Kuwait — a special case: ordinary Indian passports are not visa-on-arrival eligible, the Kuwait e-Visa platform was suspended and only resumed in January 2025, and whether Indians can use the online tourist e-Visa at all has been intermittent — many visit visas run through a Kuwait-based sponsor. Confirm the current status on the official Ministry of Interior portal before booking rather than assuming an online tourist visa.
And two African destinations where the 90 is genuinely correct: South Africa’s short-term visitor’s visa (India is on the ehome.dha.gov.za eVisa rollout) allows up to 90 days, and Tanzania’s ordinary tourist e-Visa (visa.immigration.go.tz, single entry, USD 50) gives up to 90 days. See the South Africa visa for Indians page and the Tanzania e-Visa for Indians page.
The genuinely open ones: Nepal and Bhutan
Two neighbours are far more generous than any visa regime — because they run on bilateral treaties, not visas. Indian nationals need no visa for Nepal at all: entry is completely visa-free under the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, with no fee, no permit and no strict tourist-stay cap, on a valid Indian passport or even a Voter ID card. Bhutan asks no visa either, but Indians do need an Entry Permit (immi.gov.bt or at the border) — plus a Route Permit to travel beyond Paro and Thimphu — and pay the concessional Sustainable Development Fee of ₹1,200 per person per night. See the Nepal entry for Indians page and the Bhutan permit for Indians page.
Why the exact number matters
Stay limits are not trivia. Overstaying — even by a day — 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. Planning a three-week Singapore-and-Malaysia run on an assumed 90-day pass, or relying on a Turkey e-Visa you are not eligible for, is exactly the kind of mistake a wrong number causes. That is why we verify each India country-pair against the official portal or policy table, record the eligibility, the real maximum stay and the conditions, and date the check.
How we keep this honest
Every fact above was checked on 2026-06-20 against the destination government’s own e-Visa portal or its published policy table, and dated. Where a rule is conditional (Turkey, Oman) or commonly misreported (Tunisia, the flat “90 days”), we say exactly who it applies to. 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.