India to resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens from July 24

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

India had suspended all tourist visas in 2020 in a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19 and that was followed by the military standoff in Eastern Ladakh in April that year.

The Indian embassy in Beijing said that Chinese citizens can now apply for a tourist visa to India by completing an online application, scheduling an appointment, and personally submitting their passport and required documents to the Indian Visa Application Centres in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in South China’s Guangdong Province.

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

Beijing had resumed issuing visas to Indian students and businessmen, general travel remained restricted. With this move, India has now allowed tourist visa access for Chinese citizens.

Bilateral relations between the two countries had plunged to their lowest point in six decades after the Galwan Valley clashes in June 2020. A series of diplomatic and military talks followed after which the two sides withdrew their troops from several friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

In October last year, India and China announced a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok, the last remaining friction points. Days later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in Kazan, Russia, where they agreed to task their Special Representatives to resolve the pending boundary dispute.