The International Air Transport Association (IATA) states India’s ‘tourist visas given to Chinese nationals are no longer valid’. Chinese nationals continue to be granted business, employment, diplomatic, and official visas in India, according to top government officials. India’s decision to block Chinese visitors out follows China’s refusal to let Indian students, numbering more than 20,000, to return to China after leaving due to Covid.
Even as students from Thailand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are allowed to return, they have been kept waiting. During the latter’s visit to India last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised the problem with his counterpart Wang Yi, but Beijing has yet to respond. The United Kingdom and Canada are among the nations whose residents are unable to fly to India on e-tourist visas but are permitted to visit on standard paper visas given by Indian embassies in those countries. Except for those given to Japanese and US citizens, Indian tourist visas with a 10-year validity period are no longer valid.
These updates are issued on a regular basis by IATA so that airlines are aware of which nationalities are permitted to fly to certain countries. The most recent IATA update on India, released on April 19, concerns nations whose citizens are not eligible for e-tourist visas. After a two-year hiatus, India reintroduced electronic tourist visas for 156 countries late last month, just in time for scheduled foreign flights to resume on March 27.
Nationals of Bhutan, the Maldives, and Nepal; those with a residence permit issued by India; those with a visa or e-visa issued by India; those with an overseas citizen of India (OCI) card or booklet; those with a PIO card; and diplomatic passport holders are all allowed to enter the country, according to an April 19 IATA update issued by India.
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