India Unveils Digital Business Visa for Chinese Professionals as Bilateral Engagement Picks Up

India has introduced the e‑B‑4 digital business visa for Chinese nationals, effective January 1, to ease travel for manufacturing and industrial professionals. Processed online in 45–50 days, it allows six‑month stays for technical, production and training work. The move reflects warming bilateral ties and aims to reduce skill gaps and production losses after years of strained relations between the countries.

India has rolled out a new electronic business visa aimed specifically at Chinese nationals, signaling a calibrated effort to deepen commercial engagement between the two Asian economies. Known as the e-Production Investment Business Visa, or e‑B‑4, the initiative was announced by the Indian Embassy in Beijing and came into effect on January 1. Applications are to be submitted entirely online, eliminating the need for in-person visits to Indian diplomatic missions.

The e‑B‑4 visa is designed to meet rising demand for business-related travel to India, particularly from professionals involved in manufacturing and industrial operations. Processing is expected to take between 45 and 50 days. The visa permits travel for activities such as installing and commissioning equipment, designing and operating plants, developing supply chains, supporting production processes, and providing technical training.

The launch of this visa follows a broader push by India to streamline approvals for foreign professionals. In December 2025, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) introduced the National Single Window System (NSWS), which allows companies to issue simplified digital sponsorship letters for overseas experts through a centralized platform.

Eligibility and process

To qualify for the e‑B‑4 visa, applicants must be sponsored by a company registered on the NSWS portal. The visa allows a stay of up to six months and does not require clearances or endorsements from multiple government ministries, a step that had previously slowed approvals.

Industry observers see the move as particularly significant for large Chinese manufacturers operating in India, including smartphone makers and electric vehicle firms, many of which have faced prolonged visa delays in recent years. According to analysis by the Observer Research Foundation, tighter visa scrutiny over the past four years led to an estimated $15 billion in production losses for Indian electronics companies, many of which depend on machinery and components sourced from China.

By easing entry for foreign specialists and engineers—especially those trained to operate Chinese-made equipment—the new visa is expected to help address technical skill shortages in several sectors. Industries such as solar energy, which rely heavily on imported Chinese panels and technology, have struggled to localize expertise due to limited access to experienced foreign personnel.

Gradual easing after years of strain

India–China relations had been under significant strain since the outbreak of the Covid‑19 pandemic and the 2020 military confrontation in the Galwan Valley. In the aftermath, India suspended tourist visas for Chinese citizens, while China restricted the return of tens of thousands of Indian students following the pandemic.

Visa issuance figures highlight the depth of the downturn. India issued roughly 2,000 visas to Chinese nationals in 2024, compared with about 200,000 in 2019, before border tensions and travel restrictions took hold.

Over time, however, diplomatic engagement began to recover. In 2023, China granted approximately 180,000 visas to Indian travelers as part of efforts to revive people-to-people exchanges. That momentum continued into 2025, when the Chinese Embassy in India reported issuing 85,000 visas to Indian citizens in just over three months, between January 1 and April 9.

India followed suit later that year. In July 2025, New Delhi reinstated tourist visas for Chinese nationals, a decision that coincided with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s first visit to China in five years. Initially limited to select Chinese cities, the policy was expanded globally for Chinese applicants in November 2025.

Despite these steps, business visas for Chinese professionals remained subject to heightened scrutiny for much of the period following the Galwan clashes, with extended processing times and frequent rejections. As diplomatic ties improved through high-level exchanges—and amid shifting global trade dynamics influenced by aggressive tariff measures from the United States—reports in 2025 suggested India was preparing to relax its approach.

Until recently, Chinese nationals were largely permitted to enter India only for narrowly defined technical roles, often linked to production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes. The introduction of the e‑B‑4 visa marks a notable shift, reflecting India’s attempt to balance security concerns with the practical needs of its manufacturing and industrial ambitions.