Free visas for Indians! Last week, Mohak Nahta, founder and CEO of the online visa application platform Atlys, promised a “free visa to everyone” if Neeraj Chopra won gold at the Olympics. He said, “I will personally send a free visa to everyone if Neeraj Chopra wins a gold at the Olympics. Let’s go.”
Despite Neeraj winning Silver, Nahta has decided to stick to his promise. He shared his decision in a LinkedIn post, saying, “I promised a free visa if we won gold. Today, it’s clear—it’s not the colour of the medal but our spirit that shines. To celebrate this achievement, I’m going ahead with our original offer of free visas for all Indians today.”
Neeraj Chopra put up a valiant effort and ultimately clinched a Silver in the Men’s Javelin Throw event at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. He faced tough competition from Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who set an Olympic Record with a throw of 92.97m. Neeraj secured the Silver with a season-best throw of 89.45m.
Nahta further explained, “People who commented with emails on my earlier posts will receive instructions over email from Atlys on how to redeem this offer shortly.”
Are there any hidden charges?
No, the visa is completely free, with no hidden costs according to Atlys.
Which countries are included?
All countries are covered, so you can choose your next travel destination freely.
Top 7 most expensive tourist visas for Indians, according to Atlys are:
Canada: Rs 25,000
UK: Rs 20,000
Ireland: Rs 19,950
Australia: Rs 16,000
New Zealand: Rs 17,000
Morocco: Rs 11,730
China: Rs 9,750
While the US visa is expensive, it will be available on Atlys, depending on the availability of appointments. According to the visa application platform, there are no appointments available for the US visa for the next year. The US visa costs $185 (Rs 15,540). Atlys’ service fee for a regular appointment is Rs 9,410.
The Schengen visa also requires an appointment. Atlys charges Rs 5,000 for the appointment, and the visa cost, charged by VFS, is Rs 8,250.
What other promises were made for Neeraj’s gold?
After Nahta’s LinkedIn post last week, Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant also made a promise on social media on August 7. He pledged to pick one lucky winner from those who liked and commented on his post, offering them Rs 1,00,089 if Neeraj won gold on Thursday. Additionally, he promised flight tickets to the top 10 people who caught his attention. “Let’s get support from India and around the world for my brother,” Pant announced on X.
GD Goenka University in Gurugram also pledged to award Rs 1 crore in scholarships to students excelling in sports if Neeraj Chopra secured a gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Nipun Goenka, Managing Director of the GD Goenka Group, stated, “Our Rs 1 crore scholarship in honour of Neeraj Chopra’s potential gold medal win at the Paris 2024 Olympics is to support and inspire the next generation of sports stars.”
First Published: Aug 09 2024 | 12:47 PM IST
