Has India finally simplified the business visa process for Chinese?
2024-08-09
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
Our special correspondent Bai Yuan and our reporter Yin Yeping
The Times of India reported on the 7th that Chinese citizens can apply for India's e-commerce visa through India's online visa application system. India will quickly approve visa applications from Chinese citizens who come to India to implement projects under the "Production Linked Incentive Program" (PLI). The report quoted an Indian government official as saying that India has now added China to the "Country" drop-down menu on India's current e-commerce visa application page, so that Chinese citizens can apply for e-commerce visas related to PLI projects like citizens of other countries. However, a business person in India told the Global Times on Thursday that relevant Indian officials said that Chinese citizens will soon be allowed to apply for e-commerce visas. But he also believes that before India's business environment for Chinese companies is significantly improved, the risks of investment and operation in India are still high, and companies still need to be cautious and do a good job of risk control.
In another report on the 8th, The Times of India said that Chinese technicians are often indispensable for equipment installation, maintenance and training workers. The Indian industry has been concerned about the delays in their visa applications to India. The Indian government's move is a response to this concern, aiming to speed up visa applications for Chinese technicians in the telecommunications, pharmaceutical, textile and other industries under the PLI. An Indian official revealed to the Indian media that the port was only put into use last week. The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has reportedly communicated with different departments and conducted training on how to use the new port.
According to a report by India's Business Standard on the 7th, this simplified process for issuing business visas to Chinese technicians came into effect on August 1. According to the new regulations, once an application for an electronic visa is received, it will be forwarded to relevant departments including the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and security agencies for review. An Indian official familiar with the situation revealed that regardless of whether the review is passed or not, a response must be given within 28 days. "According to the new regulations, the entire process will take about 1 month, or no more than 45 days." The official added that the visas granted to Chinese technicians will be valid for 6 months. The report mentioned that so far, visa issuance has been a manual process and is very time-consuming, and approval usually takes several months. The introduction of an automatic system will make it easier to track the application process and ensure timely approval.
"Opening visas is an important and prerequisite step." An unnamed business person in India told the Global Times on the 8th that the results of the Indian general election were lower than expected. In order to promote economic development and increase employment in Modi's third term, he will selectively allow cooperation with China. The Business Standard also mentioned that the Indian government's move was to resolve the challenges faced by strategic industries under the PLI. According to the official website of "Invest in India" affiliated to the Indian government, the Indian government first announced the "Production Linked Incentive Program" in 2020. It currently covers 14 industries including textiles, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, drones, automobiles, white goods, photovoltaic components, and special steel. It aims to support the development of related industries through government subsidies, improve the global competitiveness of India's manufacturing industry, and make India a leader in global manufacturing. The previous delay in visa issuance has seriously affected many industries under the program.
In recent years, Indian society has repeatedly called on the Indian government to relax restrictions on Chinese technicians going to India. In June, the Indian Economic Times published a special commentary on this, calling on the Indian government to allow Chinese people to come for the sake of the "Self-Reliant India" initiative. The commentary mentioned that the Indian government's simplification of the visa application process for Chinese professionals is crucial to achieving the goal of "Self-Reliant India", ensuring that there are sufficient professional talents to help Indian domestic manufacturing companies improve their production capacity, reduce dependence on imports, and ensure India's competitiveness in the global market. ▲#Deep Good Articles Project#
