India resumes tourist visas for Chinese citizens, ending five-year suspension

In a significant step towards normalising bilateral ties, India is learnt to have resumed issuance of tourist visas to Chinese citizens worldwide-- a move ending a five-year suspension imposed following the 2020 Galwan clash.

- 

The fresh move followed some sequence of steps taken earlier this year, comprising the January 2025 agreement between India and China when the two countries agreed to resume direct passenger flights.

Officials, privy to the development, said that the decision followed an order issued in July this year suggesting to resume tourist visas for Chinese nationals.

A month ago, the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrimage, halted for five years, was also revived in June 2025, with the first group of Indian pilgrims crossing into Tibet.