India plans to simplify visa issuance for Chinese specialists

The Indian government is finalizing rules to reduce the time needed to issue visas to Chinese specialists, the Economic Times reported on July 17.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is working with the Ministries of Home Affairs and External Affairs to establish a framework to expedite the issuance of visas to engineers and technicians required to install Chinese machine tools in Indian factories.

The goal is to reduce visa processing time from the current 4-5 months to 30 days.

It is worth noting that after the border conflict between India and China, the Indian government introduced strict rules for China. Visa issuance and investment approvals from China have slowed down and direct flights between the two countries have declined.

According to media reports, India has issued around 2,000 visas to Chinese citizens by 2024, up from around 200,000 in 2019.

The visa issuance process is planned to be accelerated by allowing companies receiving government subsidies to obtain business visas for Chinese workers through a simplified procedure.

Source: Rossa Primavera