Health and safety

Vaccinations for India: what is required and what is recommended

For most travellers no vaccine is legally required to enter India. The one real requirement is a yellow fever certificate, and only if you arrive within six days of being in a country with yellow fever risk. Recommended vaccines are another matter: hepatitis A, typhoid and up-to-date routine shots come up for almost everyone, and a travel clinic adds rabies, hepatitis B or Japanese encephalitis depending on your route and length of stay.

Not medical advice

This page explains what official travel health services say about India. It is not a prescription. Which vaccines you need depends on your health, your vaccination history, your route and how long you stay, so the final list comes from a doctor or travel clinic.

Required versus recommended

Two different questions hide behind "which vaccines do I need for India". The first is legal: what the border asks for. Here the answer is short, and for a traveller flying in from Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East or North America it is usually "nothing".

The second is medical: what protects you from diseases that are common in India. Here the list is longer, and the UK's travel health service NaTHNaC and the US CDC agree on its core. Most of these infections travel through water and food (hepatitis A, typhoid), through animal bites (rabies) or through mosquitoes (Japanese encephalitis). Malaria and dengue have no routine travel vaccine; for them see the guide on [mosquito-borne diseases](/en/guide/mosquito-diseases/).

What can actually be required at the border

India's health ministry checks yellow fever certificates at airports and seaports. The rule depends on where you have been, not on your passport.

Yellow fever: who needs a certificate	Travellers coming from a country with yellow fever risk. NaTHNaC words it as arrival within 6 days of leaving such an area. India has no yellow fever of its own.
Which countries count	India's health ministry list (as of January 2023) has 29 African and 13 Central and South American countries, among them Nigeria, Kenya, Angola, Brazil, Colombia and Peru; the Bureau of Immigration and NaTHNaC also include Rwanda. Check the current list before travel.
When the certificate is valid	From 10 days after the vaccination, and then for life. A certificate issued less than 10 days before arrival, a photocopy, or one without the official stamp is treated as invalid.
Without a valid certificate	Quarantine until the certificate becomes valid or until six days have passed since the last possible exposure, whichever comes first.
Polio (residents of some countries)	Since 2014 India has required residents of a short list of polio-affected countries (the 2014 list included Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan) to get a polio dose at least four weeks before departure and carry the certificate. If you live in such a country, confirm the current list with the Indian embassy.

Recommended vaccines

The table follows NaTHNaC's India page, with the CDC where it adds something. "All" and "most" are their categories, not a prescription.

Routine vaccines	Everyone: make sure measles (MMR), diphtheria, tetanus and polio are up to date. The CDC also lists flu, chickenpox and COVID-19. Where medical care may be limited, NaTHNaC advises a tetanus booster if the last dose was more than 10 years ago.
Hepatitis A	Recommended for all travellers who have not had it. Spread through food and water.
Typhoid	Recommended for most travellers, especially those visiting friends and relatives. Also spread through food and water.
Hepatitis B	For long stays, for anyone who may need medical or dental treatment, and for anyone who may have unprotected sex. The CDC recommends it for unvaccinated travellers under 60.
Rabies	For stays longer than a month, travel where post-bite treatment is hard to reach, higher-risk activities such as running or cycling, and work with animals. See the section below: in India this vaccine matters more than it seems.
Japanese encephalitis	For a month or more in risk areas during the transmission season, or shorter trips with a lot of time in rural areas or sleeping outdoors. Risk is countrywide and peaks during and just after the monsoon, especially in the north.
Cholera, chikungunya, dengue	Only for some travellers: cholera for aid workers or places without safe water and care; chikungunya for outbreaks or long stays; the dengue vaccine (per NaTHNaC) mainly for people who have already had dengue.

Rabies: the vaccine people skip and then regret

Dogs with rabies are common in India, the CDC notes, and monkeys at temples and ghats can bite and scratch too. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms start, and treatment after a bite has to begin quickly.

A pre-exposure course before the trip is three injections, usually on days 0, 7 and 21–28 (an accelerated schedule exists, which the clinic will explain). It does not remove the need for treatment after a bite, but NaTHNaC says it reduces the number of doses needed and, in most cases, the need for rabies immunoglobulin. That matters in India: immunoglobulin is not stocked at every clinic, especially outside big cities.

After any bite, scratch or lick on broken skin: flush the wound under running water for several minutes, wash it with soap, and see a doctor the same day in India rather than waiting until you are home.

One more detail. In 2025 health authorities in Australia and other countries warned about counterfeit batches of one rabies vaccine brand (Abhayrab) in India from November 2023; the manufacturer disputes how widespread it was. If you get rabies shots in India, ask for the vaccine name and batch number and keep the record for your doctor at home.

👣 When and how to get vaccinated

Several vaccines need more than one dose, and a yellow fever certificate only works from day 10. Starting early leaves room for all of it.

Book a travel clinic 4–6 weeks before departure
Earlier if you plan a long trip or rabies, hepatitis B or Japanese encephalitis courses, which take weeks.
Bring your route and your records
States, cities versus villages, trekking, length of stay, plus any old vaccination certificates. The advice depends on these details.
Yellow fever: at least 10 days before arrival
Only if your trip passes through a risk country. The vaccine is given at authorised yellow fever centres, and the certificate must be the original.
Keep certificates in your hand luggage
Officials check the original on arrival, and a photo on your phone helps if you need to show your doctor later.
Short on time? Go anyway
Even a few days before departure, a clinic can still start some vaccines and give advice on food, water, bites and malaria.

❓ Questions people ask

Are any vaccines mandatory for India?

Only a yellow fever certificate, and only if you arrive from a country with yellow fever risk. Residents of a few polio-affected countries also need a polio certificate.

I have a layover in Nairobi. Do I need a yellow fever certificate?

It depends on whether you leave the airport. India's health ministry says transit passengers who go outside the airport transit area in a risk country (Kenya is on India's list) must have a valid certificate; NaTHNaC likewise exempts those who stay within the airport. Rules on long layovers are easy to misread, so confirm with your airline and the Indian embassy before you fly.

Which vaccines do most people get for a two-week trip?

Hepatitis A and typhoid are the usual pair, plus checking routine vaccines and tetanus. A clinic decides the rest from your route.

Is there a malaria vaccine for travellers?

No. Protection is bite prevention and, for some areas, antimalarial tablets prescribed by a travel clinic.

Is the rabies vaccine worth it for a short trip?

NaTHNaC recommends it mainly for stays over a month, remote travel or contact with animals. For a short city trip it is a choice to discuss with a doctor; it simplifies treatment if you are bitten.

Can I get vaccinated in India?

Clinics and private hospitals in big cities give travel vaccines, but a full course is easier to plan at home before the trip. If you start rabies shots in India after a bite, keep the vaccine name and batch number.

Sources (8)

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