As China remains vague on return of stranded Indians, India suspends tourist visas for Chinese nationals

April 24, 2022

In an apparent tit-for-tat move, India has suspended tourist visas for nationals of China amid Beijing’s reluctance to permit the return of Indians stuck back home since 2020 due to COVID-19.
India’s “tourist visas issued to nationals of China are no longer valid”, TOI reported quoting global airlines body IATA. However, New Delhi is still giving business, employment, diplomatic and official visas to Chinese nationals.
Several Indians, including more than 23,000 students, have been stranded in India for over two years as China has suspended the visa process as well as flights from India due to the COVID-19 situation.
While students from Thailand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been allowed to return to China, Beijing continues to remain ambivalent about permitting stranded Indian students and hundreds of Indian businessmen and workers and their families to re-join their studies and work.
India has been pressing China to allow stranded Indian students mostly studying medicine and Indians working there to travel back. Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had taken up the issue with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during the latter’s visit to India.

In February, China promised the Indian Embassy here to work for the “early return” of the Indian students and assured that they will not be “discriminated” in any manner as their resumption of studies is not a “political issue”.
Defending his country’s decision to allow students from some countries to return but not from India, Wang told a media briefing on March 22 that “on the basis of ensuring sound epidemic prevention and control, it is coordinating arrangement for a small number of foreign students with actual needs to return to China in light of the changing international epidemic situation and the characteristics of the students’ majors”.