In the latest sign of thawing relations between Asia’s two largest economies, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi has switched its entire visa process to a digital platform for Indian passport holders. From 22 December applicants for tourist (L), business (M), student (X) and work (Z) visas can complete forms, upload documents, pay fees in Indian rupees and book biometric appointments online, slashing paperwork and cutting consulate visits from two to one.
The change matters for business. India is China’s fourth-largest trading partner, but visa bottlenecks—particularly after the 2020 Ladakh border crisis—have frustrated executives on both sides. According to India’s commerce ministry, delayed factory-installation teams from China cost Indian manufacturers an estimated US$15 billion in 2024 alone. A streamlined e-visa pipeline removes one of the biggest friction points just as bilateral trade is rebounding.
![Chinese Embassy in India Launches Fully Online Visa Application System]()
For companies and individual travellers still navigating the transition, specialist platforms such as VisaHQ can act as a convenient one-stop concierge. The firm’s China desk (https://www.visahq.com/china/) already digitises document review, appointment scheduling and courier logistics, giving applicants a single dashboard to manage every stage of the new process and reducing rejection risk.
Technically, the portal integrates with China’s consular databases and accepts local payment options such as UPI, avoiding foreign-exchange mark-ups. Real-time status tracking and automated SMS updates are included, bringing the service in line with best-practice systems used by Singapore and the United States. The embassy says median processing time for straightforward tourist applications should drop from eight working days to four.
For mobility managers the advice is to update pre-trip checklists and ensure travellers enter passport details exactly as they appear on the machine-readable zone; errors will require a fresh application. The embassy has retained an emergency counter for humanitarian cases but expects 90 percent of submissions to move online within three months. If successful, the model could be extended to other South Asian missions.
The change matters for business. India is China’s fourth-largest trading partner, but visa bottlenecks—particularly after the 2020 Ladakh border crisis—have frustrated executives on both sides. According to India’s commerce ministry, delayed factory-installation teams from China cost Indian manufacturers an estimated US$15 billion in 2024 alone. A streamlined e-visa pipeline removes one of the biggest friction points just as bilateral trade is rebounding.
For companies and individual travellers still navigating the transition, specialist platforms such as VisaHQ can act as a convenient one-stop concierge. The firm’s China desk (https://www.visahq.com/china/) already digitises document review, appointment scheduling and courier logistics, giving applicants a single dashboard to manage every stage of the new process and reducing rejection risk.
Technically, the portal integrates with China’s consular databases and accepts local payment options such as UPI, avoiding foreign-exchange mark-ups. Real-time status tracking and automated SMS updates are included, bringing the service in line with best-practice systems used by Singapore and the United States. The embassy says median processing time for straightforward tourist applications should drop from eight working days to four.
For mobility managers the advice is to update pre-trip checklists and ensure travellers enter passport details exactly as they appear on the machine-readable zone; errors will require a fresh application. The embassy has retained an emergency counter for humanitarian cases but expects 90 percent of submissions to move online within three months. If successful, the model could be extended to other South Asian missions.
