India and Maldives have on Monday entered into a visa agreement that eases the process of acquiring and changing visas for Maldivians living in India.

The agreement was signed between Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during a high-level meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

The agreement will set the most lenient visa system India has ever made available for any country. A similar leniency for Indian citizens acquiring visas in the Maldives will also be extended under the agreement.

The agreement will allow Maldivians to stay in India for medical and business purposes on a 90-day visa.

Maldivians in India can also transfer their visa from one for tourist purposes to medical, under specified circumstances, without having to leave the country.

The agreement will also allow Maldivians to acquire medical visas for durations as long as seven months and one year and seven months.

Further, the visa will also lax criteria for student-parents, minors, and elder citizens.

Maldives and India signed three other agreements on Monday;

• For agri-business faciliation, signed by Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail 
• For Information and Communication Technology cooperation, signed by state minister Mohamed Aslam
• A Memorandum of Understanding for cultural cooperation, signed by Foreign Minister Shahid