India Resumes Tourist Visas for Chinese Citizens After Five-Years

India will restart giving out visitor visas to Chinese travelers on July 24, 2025, the first such visas to be given in five years, the Indian Embassy in China said Wednesday. This comes amid an important breakthrough in improving tortious bilateral relations between the two Asian economic superpowers that suffered a fatal 2020 military confrontation along a disputed Himalayan border.

The Indian Embassy in Beijing posted the announcement on its Sina Weibo account indicating how one can apply. Chinese nationals may request a tourist, visiting, or business visa by filling an online form, booking an appointment and delivering the passport and rest of the documents in person at the Indian Visa Application Centers in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou. It is a step taken after many attempts at redeveloping trust through diplomatic channels, with meetings at the top level between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia, attended in October 2024.

• India Resumes Tourist Visas for Chinese Citizens After 5-Year Suspension Starting July 24, 2025
• India to Restart Visitor Visas for China Amid Renewed Diplomatic Ties Post-Galwan Tensions
• India Reopens Borders to Chinese Tourists and Business Travelers in Key Diplomatic Breakthrough

The situation became even more tense due to the confrontation that took place in the Galwan Valley in 2020, and India restricted Chinese investments, banned many Chinese apps, and suspend passenger flights. China, on its part, had suspended visas to Indian citizens in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while student and business visas were re-introduced in 2022, tourist visas have so far remained suspended until March 2025, when resuming direct air services between the two nations was agreed. New Delhi and Beijing have also restarted commercial flights between the cities in January 2025 and the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage is due to resume this summer, both of which demonstrate relaxation of tensions.

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The disputed border between the two countries is 3,800 km long and is the locus of tensions between the countries since the 1950s in spite of a short war in 1962. The recent developments in diplomatic discussions such as the visit of the Indian Foreign secretary Vikram Misri in China and the meeting of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in the meeting of SCO summit further confirm attempts to stabilise the relationship.