India Reopens Door For Chinese Tourists After 5-Year Pause

Although China resumed issuing visas for students and business travellers in 2022, tourist visas for Indian nationals remained restricted until March 2025.

Recent high-level engagements, including a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia last October, signal cautious optimism. 

Source : ANI

India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals for the first time in five years as the relationship between the two nations turned sour after the Galwan Valley clash.

The visas are likely to be issued from July 24 (Wednesday), the Indian Embassy in China said in a statement.

The Embassy said Chinese citizens can apply for a tourist visa to India after completing an online application. They will have to schedule an appointment and personally submit their passport and other required documents to the Indian Visa Application Centres in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, in South China's Guangdong Province. 

"Please be informed that all passport withdrawal requests for applications submitted in India Visa Application Center in Beijing must be accompanied by a passport withdrawal letter..," the Indian Embassy said in the statement. 

India-China Relations After Galwan Valley Clash

Tensions between India and China have eased slightly after a prolonged chill sparked by the deadly 2020 military clash along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. In the aftermath, India banned Chinese apps, restricted investments, and cut passenger routes, while China suspended visas citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although China resumed issuing visas for students and business travellers in 2022, tourist visas for Indian nationals remained restricted until March 2025, when both sides agreed to restart direct air services.

Recent high-level engagements, including a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Russia last October, signal cautious optimism.