India’s embassy in Tehran on Monday said Iran will suspend its visa-waiver facility for ordinary Indian passport holders from November 22 after reports that Indians were being lured to the country on false job offers and kidnapped for ransom.
In a travel advisory, the embassy said Indian nationals had been “tricked into journeying to Iran by taking advantage of the visa waiver facility,” with many abducted upon arrival by criminal groups posing as recruitment or travel agents.
The advisory said Iran had decided to halt the visa-waiver scheme “to prevent further misuse of the facility by criminal elements.”
“Indian nationals with ordinary passports would be required to obtain a visa to enter or transit through Iran,” the advisory added.
The embassy urged Indians planning to travel to Iran to remain “vigilant” and avoid agents offering visa-free travel or onward transit to third countries via Iran.
In May, India’s embassy in Tehran said three Indian nationals who had traveled to Iran that month had gone missing.
The missing men — Hushanpreet Singh, Jaspal Singh, and Amritpal Singh — are all from the northern Indian state of Punjab and reportedly lost contact with their families shortly after landing in Tehran on May 1.
According to Indian media, they had planned to travel to Australia via Dubai and Iran, reportedly with the help of an agent based in Hoshiarpur who was also missing.
Relatives said the men were kidnapped and that a ransom was demanded.
In early June, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported that the three men were rescued in a police operation against the hostage-takers in Varamin, south of Tehran.
The Indian Embassy later said the three kidnapped men had been “safely rescued” and were now under its care, adding that it was arranging their repatriation.
