Indians visiting Britain on tourist visas will now be able to visit neighbouring Ireland without a visa, under a visa waiver programme announced in Dublin.
The waiver programme will run from July 1 until October 2012, a period that includes the London 2012 Olympics, when a large number of Indian and other tourists are expected to visit Britain.
At present, Indian citizens need a visa to enter Ireland.
Under Ireland's first visa-waiver programme, citizens of 14 countries including China, India, and parts of Eastern Europe and West Asia will no longer need a visa for a short-term visit once they have cleared immigration in the U.K. during the period.
Promotional
The Irish government hopes it will result in extra tourism revenue especially from companies and the Olympics.
The programme is designed to assist in the promotion of Ireland as a quality tourist destination for markets which hitherto would not have been regarded as traditional source countries for tourism to Ireland. — PTI
