India to Resume Visas for Chinese Tourists
The first time in five years as both countries move to repair their rocky relationship.
New Delhi: India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals from Thursday, ending a four‑year suspension imposed after the 2020 border crisis in Ladakh.
In a notice posted Wednesday on the Chinese social‑media platform Weibo, the Indian embassy in Beijing announced that, effective July 24, Chinese citizens may again apply for tourist visas. Applicants must complete an online form, schedule an appointment, and submit their passports, forms, and supporting documents at Indian Visa Application Centres in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou.
The move follows external affairs minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Beijing last week, during which he said that restoring “people‑to‑people exchanges can certainly foster mutually beneficial cooperation.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to Tianjin late next month for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit hosted by President Xi Jinping.
Beijing welcomed the decision, saying it was ready to work with New Delhi to boost travel and other exchanges. India had halted tourist visas for Chinese nationals in 2020 after deadly clashes in the Galwan Valley strained relations and disrupted direct flight links. With military disengagement agreements signed last year in Depsang and Demchok, both sides have gradually sought to rebuild trust; the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage reopened to Indian devotees this summer.
During talks in Beijing, Jaishankar told Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi that further steps toward border de‑escalation would shape the trajectory of ties. He also described the renewed pilgrimage access as “widely appreciated” in India and said continued normalisation could yield “mutually beneficial outcomes.”