India relaxes e-visa rules for Chinese nationals

India has announced significant relaxations in its e-visa policy or rules for Chinese nationals. The announcement comes at a time when the leaders of the two nations Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping had met for the second informal summit, in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu.

The decision to offer multiple-entry 5-year visas is offered for a much longer duration than offered till now and meets a long-standing demand from China.

Relaxed e-visa rules for Chinese nationals

October 2019 onwards, the Chinese nationals can apply for an e-Tourist visa (e-TV) of 5-year validity with multiple entries.

The visa fee for this 5-year multiple entry e-TV will be $80. Moreover, the prospective tourists can avail of single-entry 30-day validity e-TV at a reduced visa fee of $25, while for a 30-day e-TV during months of April to June, the visa fee will be only $10.

The one-year multiple-entry e-TV will continue to be offered but at a reduced visa fee of $40.

Other relaxations– the existing e-conference visa, e-medical visa and 1-year multiple-entry e-business visa will continue to be issued from online platform of Indian visas.

Significance: This unilateral liberalisation of e-TV for Chinese nationals will enhance people-to-people exchanges between two nations. It will also encourage more Chinese tourists to choose India as a tourist destination.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2019