India resumes tourist visas for Chinese citizens after five-year suspension

Dubai: India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals starting July 24, 2025, the Indian Embassy in Beijing announced on Wednesday.

This marks the first time in five years that Chinese tourists can apply for travel permits to India — a significant diplomatic gesture as the two countries work to stabilise relations that were deeply strained by the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes.

Tourist visa services were halted in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when India suspended all such categories to prevent the spread of the virus.

While China lifted its own restrictions in 2022, allowing Indian students and business travelers to return, the issuance of Indian tourist visas to Chinese citizens remained suspended.

According to a statement posted by the Indian Embassy on Chinese social media platform Weibo and shared by Chinese state media Global Times, Chinese citizens will now be able to apply for Indian tourist visas by following a three-step process:

The embassy also noted that for passport withdrawals at the Beijing centre, applicants must submit a formal passport withdrawal letter.

The move comes as part of broader efforts to normalise India-China relations, which hit a historic low following the deadly border clashes in Galwan Valley in June 2020.

The fallout from the incident led to heightened military tensions and diplomatic estrangement, with both countries placing restrictions on travel and trade.

However, after several rounds of high-level military and diplomatic talks, both sides agreed to disengage troops from multiple friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

In October last year, a breakthrough was reached when both countries agreed to a disengagement plan for the remaining flashpoints — Depsang and Demchok.

The renewed momentum was visible during the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia, where the two leaders discussed ways to stabilise ties and improve communication.

Since then, both nations have taken steps to restore direct air links, reopen communication channels, and initiate people-to-people exchanges, including plans to resume the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, which had been suspended since the pandemic.

In April, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar stated that India-China relations were moving in a "positive direction" but added that much work remained to fully normalise ties. The announcement of visa resumption for Chinese tourists is seen as a key part of that effort.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Wednesday welcomed the move, noting that Beijing "has taken note of this positive development."

For now, visa processing will be handled through Indian centers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, all located in China’s key metropolitan regions. Applications are expected to open floodgates for the resumption of travel between the world’s two most populous nations.

As bilateral engagement gradually rebuilds, this development may pave the way for increased tourism, cultural exchange, and business cooperation — areas that had witnessed sharp declines since 2020.