India resumes tourist visas for Chinese nationals after five-year freeze

India will start issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals from July 24 after halting them for five years, Reuters reported, citing the Indian Embassy in China. 

 

The development marks a shift in the strained ties between the two countries, which are aiming to improve ties and ease tensions after Galwan clashes in 2020. 

 

Chinese media Global Times shared the post made by the Indian Embassy in China on Weibo. Sharing the post on X, it said, "The Embassy of India in China announced via its Sina Weibo account on Wednesday that, starting from July 24, 2025, Chinese citizens can apply for a tourist visa to visit India after completing an online application, scheduling an appointment, and personally submitting their passport and other required documents to the Indian Visa Application Centers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, in South China’s Guangdong Province."

 

It further added, "This marks the first time since the suspension in 2020 that India has resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens after a five-year hiatus, according to media reports."

 

Earlier this year, the two countries also agreed to resume direct air services, along with resuming the Kailash Mansarovar yatra this summer. Both the direct air services and the Kailash Mansarovar yatra were suspended after the Covid-19 pandemic and the Galwan clashes.  

 

India suspends visas for Chinese nationals

 

In 2020, India suspended all tourist visas for Chinese nationals in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. In April 2022, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) issued a notice, stating that all tourist visas to Chinese nationals will no longer be valid. The move came in retaliation after China limited the re-entry of as many as 22,000 Indian students in the country after the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Breakthrough in India-China ties

 

Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited China, marking his first visit in five years, indicating a positive development in the ties of the two countries.  

 

Earlier in March this year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi highlighted positive developments in India-China relations. He added that both countries have made positive strides in their bilateral ties and achieved encouraging outcomes.  

 

Yi emphasised the need for a cooperative partnership between the dragon (China) and the elephant (India). He stated, "China believes that as the largest neighbors, both countries should be partners in each other's success." He attributed the positive developments between the two countries to a successful meeting held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Kazan, Russia.

 

His remarks were in line with the breakthrough which India and China were able to achieve in 2024, ending the four-year-long military standoff in eastern Ladakh.