In a move aimed at thawing post-Ladakh tensions and luring supply-chain investment, India on December 13 shortened processing times and relaxed documentation requirements for Chinese nationals seeking short-term business and technical-support visas.
Under the new guidelines, Chinese engineers, auditors and project managers coming for assignments of up to 90 days may now apply under the standard business-visa category rather than the more heavily vetted Employment (E) visa. Applications will be resolved within three to four weeks—half the previous timeline—according to officials quoted by the Ministry of External Affairs.
The policy shift follows months of behind-the-scenes talks between the two governments and coincides with the resumption of direct flights and last quarter’s restart of tourist visas for Chinese citizens. Indian manufacturers dependent on CNC machines, solar-panel lines and telecom equipment made in China have long complained that visa bottlenecks delayed commissioning and maintenance.
![India fast-tracks short-stay business visas for Chinese professionals]()
Companies and individual travelers looking to capitalize on the new rules can streamline the process through VisaHQ, whose India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) offers step-by-step application guidance, document verification and real-time tracking for business and technical-support visas. By outsourcing the paperwork to VisaHQ’s specialists, HR teams can stay compliant with the 90-day cap while minimizing delays and resubmissions.
Risk-mitigation provisions remain. Visas will be single-entry and capped at 90 days, and applicants must provide letters from Indian host companies affirming responsibility for security compliance. Background checks by India’s security agencies will continue, but an internal “administrative vetting” layer has been removed to speed processing.
For mobility teams, the development simplifies scheduling of Chinese vendors and boosts India’s attractiveness as an alternative production hub amid U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. Firms should update invitation-letter templates and anticipate higher demand for Mandarin-speaking relocation support in cities such as Chennai, Pune and Noida where Chinese equipment suppliers are active.
Under the new guidelines, Chinese engineers, auditors and project managers coming for assignments of up to 90 days may now apply under the standard business-visa category rather than the more heavily vetted Employment (E) visa. Applications will be resolved within three to four weeks—half the previous timeline—according to officials quoted by the Ministry of External Affairs.
The policy shift follows months of behind-the-scenes talks between the two governments and coincides with the resumption of direct flights and last quarter’s restart of tourist visas for Chinese citizens. Indian manufacturers dependent on CNC machines, solar-panel lines and telecom equipment made in China have long complained that visa bottlenecks delayed commissioning and maintenance.
Companies and individual travelers looking to capitalize on the new rules can streamline the process through VisaHQ, whose India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) offers step-by-step application guidance, document verification and real-time tracking for business and technical-support visas. By outsourcing the paperwork to VisaHQ’s specialists, HR teams can stay compliant with the 90-day cap while minimizing delays and resubmissions.
Risk-mitigation provisions remain. Visas will be single-entry and capped at 90 days, and applicants must provide letters from Indian host companies affirming responsibility for security compliance. Background checks by India’s security agencies will continue, but an internal “administrative vetting” layer has been removed to speed processing.
For mobility teams, the development simplifies scheduling of Chinese vendors and boosts India’s attractiveness as an alternative production hub amid U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. Firms should update invitation-letter templates and anticipate higher demand for Mandarin-speaking relocation support in cities such as Chennai, Pune and Noida where Chinese equipment suppliers are active.
