India Eases China Skilled Visa Rules to Boost Tech Ties

• India has simplified visa processing for Chinese professionals to strengthen economic ties and boost high-tech production
• Stricter visa checks had caused $15 billion in production losses for Indian electronics manufacturers
• The policy shift follows Modi’s visit to China and aims to attract Chinese investment in tech and manufacturing sectors

India is now adopting more efficient procedures for issuing work visas to Chinese citizens in order to help boost trade between India & China and to ease delays that have been disrupting the supply chain of high-tech products being manufactured in India.

In the face of political tensions stemming from the tariffs placed on China by the United States; this change represents a strategic approach to normalizing relationships with China. Some key changes include eliminating an arbitrary layer of administrative vetting and reducing the processing time for business visas from more than four weeks to less than four weeks.

In the wake of the India-China border conflict in 2020, India has imposed much greater scrutiny of the visa application process for applicants from China. This increased level of scrutiny extended beyond the Ministry of Home Affairs to include other ministries. This strict vetting process has resulted in significant delays in production for Indian companies, especially businesses that rely on Chinese machinery and expertise.

Industry experts who work for the Observer Research Foundation have reported that due to the more stringent visa applications, Indian electronics manufacturers will have lost an estimated $15 billion in production altogether over the past four years, particularly in the field of mobile device assembly.

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 This timeframe includes the period where manufacturers will have been most impacted by the additional scrutiny required by the visa application process for applicants from China and is most prevalent within that particular sector of the Indian electronics industry.

Disruptions to operations and slowdowns of Chinese companies such as Xiaomi's expansion into India due to difficulties in obtaining visas are due to China's Government's recent decision to relax its visa restrictions.

This relaxation followed Indian Prime Minister Modi's recent visit to China (the first visit of an Indian Leader to China in 7 years), during which time Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed increasing economic co-operation between their countries and instituted the re-establishment of direct flights between the two countries.

To promote investments from China, a committee (headed by Rajiv Gauba) recommended relaxing visa policies. Industry groups, including the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association, appreciate the government's decision as a positive move toward strengthening collaboration within both the Technology Sector and the Manufacturing Sector.