India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued an unprecedented advisory in the early hours of 16 January 2026, asking the estimated 9,000 Indian nationals still residing in Iran to “leave by any means available at the earliest.” Commercial flights, land crossings into Armenia, and ferries to the UAE were all listed as possible routes.
Although the MEA statement did not detail the underlying threat, officials cited a rapid deterioration in regional security, including drone attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Oman and warnings from multiple Western embassies of possible retaliatory strikes on Iranian territory. The advisory also asked Indian citizens who cannot depart to register their presence with the Embassy in Tehran and to keep emergency travel documents ready.
For Indian nationals who suddenly need exit or transit documentation, VisaHQ’s India service center (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can expedite visa applications, arrange courier pickups for passports, and provide up-to-date guidance on consular requirements, helping travellers secure the paperwork required to use any escape route that becomes available.
![MEA Urges 9,000 Indians in Iran to Exit Immediately Amid Escalating Tensions]()
The directive has immediate implications for Indian project personnel in Iran’s Chabahar Port, oil-field technicians in Khuzestan, and thousands of Shia pilgrims who transit through Qom and Mashhad each winter. Employers are scrambling to activate evacuation plans and to book limited seats on the Tehran–Doha and Tehran–Dubai service corridors, where airfares have already tripled overnight.
Insurance underwriters noted that companies ignoring the advisory could face exclusions in their Kidnap & Ransom and Business-Travel Accident policies. Mobility teams are therefore advising remote work or rapid redeployment to neighbouring offices in Oman and the UAE until the security picture stabilises. The MEA has set up a 24-hour hotline (+98 912 xxxxxxxx) and promised consular assistance at Iranian exit points.
While the advisory stops short of imposing a formal travel ban, it represents the strongest language used by New Delhi since the 2019 Gulf crisis and underscores how geopolitical flashpoints can disrupt even well-established expatriate corridors.
Although the MEA statement did not detail the underlying threat, officials cited a rapid deterioration in regional security, including drone attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Oman and warnings from multiple Western embassies of possible retaliatory strikes on Iranian territory. The advisory also asked Indian citizens who cannot depart to register their presence with the Embassy in Tehran and to keep emergency travel documents ready.
For Indian nationals who suddenly need exit or transit documentation, VisaHQ’s India service center (https://www.visahq.com/india/) can expedite visa applications, arrange courier pickups for passports, and provide up-to-date guidance on consular requirements, helping travellers secure the paperwork required to use any escape route that becomes available.
The directive has immediate implications for Indian project personnel in Iran’s Chabahar Port, oil-field technicians in Khuzestan, and thousands of Shia pilgrims who transit through Qom and Mashhad each winter. Employers are scrambling to activate evacuation plans and to book limited seats on the Tehran–Doha and Tehran–Dubai service corridors, where airfares have already tripled overnight.
Insurance underwriters noted that companies ignoring the advisory could face exclusions in their Kidnap & Ransom and Business-Travel Accident policies. Mobility teams are therefore advising remote work or rapid redeployment to neighbouring offices in Oman and the UAE until the security picture stabilises. The MEA has set up a 24-hour hotline (+98 912 xxxxxxxx) and promised consular assistance at Iranian exit points.
While the advisory stops short of imposing a formal travel ban, it represents the strongest language used by New Delhi since the 2019 Gulf crisis and underscores how geopolitical flashpoints can disrupt even well-established expatriate corridors.
