India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens starting 24 July, marking a major step toward restoring bilateral ties strained since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash. The Indian Embassy in Beijing confirmed the decision on Wednesday, nearly five years after all tourist visas were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chinese nationals can now apply through Indian Visa Application Centres (IVACs) in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Applicants must complete an online form, book an appointment, and submit documents in person. The embassy also clarified that requests to withdraw passports from the Beijing IVAC must include a formal withdrawal letter.
Tourist visas were halted in March 2020 amid rising COVID-19 infections. While student, business, and certain other visa categories were reinstated in phases, tourism remained off-limits, symbolic of lingering diplomatic tensions after the deadly June 2020 border clash in Ladakh.
Efforts to stabilise ties have accelerated over the past year. In October 2024, India and China finalised disengagement at friction points in Depsang and Demchok. That was followed by a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, where the two leaders agreed to deepen dialogue.
A key breakthrough came in June 2025, when Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong met in New Delhi. The two sides agreed to fast-track the resumption of direct air services and finalise a new Air Services Agreement. Talks also covered reopening the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and enhancing people-to-people exchanges.
China, for its part, has relaxed its own visa regime for Indian travellers. As of April 2025, it had issued over 85,000 visas to Indian nationals, with eased procedures like walk-in applications and reduced fees.
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar called the recent developments a “positive direction,” but noted that normalisation remains a work in progress.
The reopening of tourist visas is being seen as a meaningful step toward rebuilding trust and restoring mobility between the two Asian powers.
