India quietly resumes tourist visas for Chinese citizens after five-year freeze
New Delhi: India has resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals, ending a five-year freeze triggered first by the Covid-19 pandemic and later prolonged by the deadly Galwan Valley clash in June 2020. The decision, however, was made public not through Indian government channels, but via a low-key announcement by the Indian embassy in China, exclusively in Mandarin, on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo.
As of Wednesday, there was no mention of the resumption on the Indian embassy’s website or the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) portal. According to China’s Global Times, Indian tourist visas for Chinese citizens are now available again starting July 24, 2025, through Indian Visa Application Centres in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Applicants must complete an online form, schedule an appointment, and submit documents in person.
The Chinese foreign ministry welcomed the move. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, “We take note of this positive move. Easing cross-border travel is widely beneficial. China will maintain communication and consultation with India to further facilitate travel between the two countries.”
India had suspended Chinese tourist visas in early 2020 when the pandemic began, and extended the freeze in the aftermath of the June 15, 2020 Galwan clash, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed. China had also imposed its own restrictions on foreign travellers during the pandemic but partially lifted them in 2022 for Indian students and business travellers.
Earlier this year, Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong had stated that more than 50,000 visas had been issued to Indian citizens since March 2025, with several relaxed norms including the removal of mandatory online appointments and biometric data collection for short-term travel.
In 2019, before the pandemic and the Galwan standoff, India had received approximately 1.31 crore foreign tourists, over 3 lakh of them from China.
The resumption of tourist visas is being seen as part of an incremental but deliberate shift toward restoring pre-2020 normalcy in India-China relations. After years of stalemate, significant diplomatic progress was achieved in October 2024, with the resolution of border tensions at Demchok and Depsang. That paved the way for a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia.
External affairs minister S. Jaishankar, who recently visited China for the first time since the Galwan clash to attend the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting, remarked that disengagement in border areas had laid the groundwork for improving ties. “Measures towards normalising our people-to-people exchanges can certainly foster mutually beneficial cooperation,” he said.
In addition to visa resumption, Beijing recently reopened the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra route after five years and is reportedly in talks with New Delhi about restarting direct commercial flights.
Despite the thaw, India maintains that resolution of the border dispute remains key to long-term peace. Still, recent moves suggest a quiet revival of the 1993 Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control, an understanding that once allowed the broader bilateral relationship to progress even as the boundary question remained unresolved.
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'Homebound' makes it to Oscar shortlist for best international feature
Mumbai (PTI): Neeraj Ghaywan's much acclaimed "Homebound" is among the 15 films shortlisted in the best international feature category at the Oscars, moving a step close to the final five nominations and maybe a win.
The movie, inspired by a true story that became the basis of a news article during the pandemic, has been creating a global buzz since its debut in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival this May.
Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese is a fan and has come onboard as an executive producer ahead of the award season.
Produced by Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla, and starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, "Homebound" is Ghaywan's second movie after "Masaan".
"Homebound" will compete for an Oscar nomination alongside Argentina's “Belén”, Brazil's “The Secret Agent”, French drama "It Was Just an Accident”, Germany's "Sound of Falling” and Iraq's "The President's Cake".
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The other movies in the shortlist include Japan's “Kokuho”, Jordan's “All That’s Left of You”, Norway's “Sentimental Value”, Palestine's “Palestine 36”, South Korean hit “No Other Choice”, Spain's “Sirat”, "Late Shift" from Switzerland, “Left-Handed Girl”from Taiwan and Tunisian drama “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced in a release on Tuesday.
The award for best foreign film, now re-categorised as best international feature, has so far eluded India.
Only three Indian films have received nominations in the category -- Mehmood Khan’s “Mother India”, Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay” and Ashutosh Gowarikar’s “Lagaan”. Deepa Mehta’s “Water”, starring John Abraham and Lisa Ray, also received a nomination but it was submitted from Canada.
Gujarati film "Chhello Show" in 2023 was the last film to get shortlisted.
Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya was the first Indian to get an Oscar, bagging the coveted prize in 1983 for the film "Gandhi". Other than her, A R Rahman, Resul Pukootty and M M Keeravani have also won individual Oscars.
Team "Homebound" celebrated the shortlist news with posts on social media.
"We made the shortlist... Way to go team Homebound'!" Johar shared in Instagram Stories.
In a post, the producer said it was difficult for him to articulate how "proud and elated" he was with the news.
"All of us @dharmamovies are privileged to have this proud and important film in our filmography... thank you @neeraj.ghaywan for making so many dreams of ours come true... from Cannes to being on the Oscar shortlist this has been such an overwhelming journey! Love to the entire cast and crew and teams of this special special film! Upwards and onwards...."
Ghaywan also shared the news on X.
"#Homebound has been shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards! We are deeply grateful for the extraordinary love and support we've received from around the world," he wrote on X with a special poster of the film.
Jethwa, who plays one of the two friends in the story opposite Ishaan Khatter, said the moment feels "surreal and incredibly humbling".
"To see 'Homebound' being shortlisted and progressing towards the Oscars is something I could have only dreamed of. I am deeply grateful for the love and support the film has received from audiences around the world," he said as he acknowledged Johar, Ghaywan and co-star Khatter and the rest of the team.
Khatter also shared the news on his Instagram stories and wrote, "Oscar ab dur nahi".
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"Homebound" is inspired by journalist Basharat Peer's The New York Times article “Taking Amrit Home”, also titled "A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway".
The film portrays the childhood friendship between a Muslim and Dalit who chase a police job that promises them the dignity they have long been denied due to their surnames.
The Academy on Tuesday also announced shortlists in 11 other categories, including the newly added casting Oscars, animated shorts, cinematography, documentary feature, documentary short, original score and song, sound and visual effects categories.
Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Twenty-four categories will be awarded at the 98th Oscars. Each category has five nominees, except for best picture, which has 10.
The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
