Indian Visas For Chinese Tourists From Tomorrow, After 5-Year Gap

India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens from July 24, its embassy in Beijing said on Wednesday, the first time in five years.

In 2020, India had suspended all tourist visas in a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19. 

In a statement, the Embassy of India in China said that Chinese citizens can apply for a tourist visa to 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. 

"Please be informed that all passport withdrawal requests for applications submitted in India Visa Application Center in Beijing must be accompanied by a passport withdrawal letter..," the statement added. 

Travel between India and China was significantly disrupted in recent years amid the Covid-19 pandemic followed by diplomatic tensions over the 2020 Galwan clashes. While Beijing gradually resumed issuing visas to Indian students and businessmen, general travel remained restricted.

Bilateral relations between the two countries had plunged to their lowest point since the 1962 war after the Galwan Valley clashes. Following a series of diplomatic and military talks, the two sides withdrew their troops from several friction along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

In October last, the two sides firmed up a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok, the last two friction points in eastern Ladakh. Days later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in Kazan and took a number of decisions to improve the ties.

Earlier this year, India and China explored ways to rebuild ties and agreed to initiate efforts to promote people-to-people exchanges, including arrangements for resumption of direct flights and resume Kailash Manasarovar Yatra this year. The Yatra was suspended since the outbreak of Covid-19.

In April, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India and China are moving towards a "positive direction" in their ties and work needs to be done to normalise the relationship.