India Resumes Tourist Visas for China after Five Years

July 24, 2025 – India is to start issuing tourist visas to China again… after a gap of five years. This was announced by the Indian Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday July 23. Effective Thursday July 24, applicants can submit their visa application online after which they have to schedule an appointment and personally submit their passport and other necessary documents to the Indian Visa Application Centers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, in South China's Guangdong Province.

“Easing cross-border travel is widely beneficial. China will maintain communication and consultation with India to further facilitate travel between the two countries,” said Chinese MFA spokesperson Guo Jiakun in Beijing.

India-China ties had soured in 2020 following the military standoff at the Line of Actual Control and the Galwan clashes after which India enforced visa ban, ban on several Chinese apps, cancelled direct air travel between the two countries and put Chinese investments under strict scrutiny.

Most visa services had then been cancelled by both India and China. The latter restored visa applications for Indian students in 2022 and for business and tourism purposes subsequently. India had issued visas in business and student categories, but not for tourism until now.

In March of this year, China had removed travel ban on Indian nationals following an agreement between the two countries to resume direct air travel.

This announcement is being hailed as a positive development to further normalise relations between the two neighbouring countries.

With Media Inputs