The past year has seen some nice options opening up to Indian passport holders, making it much easier and hassle free to enter those countries and thus plan some last minute trips.

Oman, which previously had moved to issue e-visas, that were valid for 30 days, has now started issuing a new class of e-visa called Visa 26N Tourist Visit Visa, and it is going to make it even cheaper and easier to visit Oman for Indians. Indians with a valid residency or a multi-entry visa to the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan or a valid Schengen visa can now avail of the new e-visa for 5 Omani Riyal (~INR 900). You can apply for it online at the website of the Royal Oman Police. As an FYI, the 30 day visa costs 20 OMR, so this is considerably cheaper. This visa is of course valid for 10 days vs the 30 days of the more expensive option.

You would need a scanned passport photo, a scanned passport and an existing visa copy from any of the countries mentioned above. The Visa can be used within a month from approval. You also need an existing hotel reservation in Oman along with a return ticket. People who still need sponsors can also get this visa via their travel agents for an additional fee.