The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global airline body, told its member airlines on April 20 that India has suspended the issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals.

India has been presenting to China the plight of some 22,000 Indian students studying at Chinese universities who cannot go back to physical education classes. However, neighbouring countries have so far refused to let them in.
When the COVID-19 pandemic started in early 2020, these students had to leave China to study and come to India.

“Tourist visas issued to nationals of China (People’s Republic of China) are no longer valid,” the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a notice on India on April 20.
It said the following passengers are allowed to enter India:
Nationals of Bhutan, India, Maldives, and Nepal
Passengers holding Indian issued residence permits
Passengers holding Indian issued visas or e-visas
Holders of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card or booklets
Passengers with Indian origin (PIO) cards
Passengers with diplomatic passports
IATA also said that tourist visas, valid for ten years, were no longer valid.

IATA is a global airline body with approximately 290 members representing more than 80 per cent of international air traffic. MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi said on March 17 that India had urged Beijing to take a “friendly stance” on the matter, as the continued strict restrictions are jeopardizing the academic careers of thousands of Indian students.

Bach said that a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on February 8 that China is coordinating an investigation into the matter and is studying arrangements to allow foreign students to return home. “But allow me to clarify that China has not made any clear response to the return of Indian students. We will continue to urge China to take a friendly stance in the interests of our students and assist them in arranging for their return to China as soon as possible so that our students can continue their studies,” said Budge.

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He said Foreign Minister Jashankar also discussed the issue with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a meeting in Dushanbe last September. The foreign ministers of the two countries held talks in the Tajikistan capital on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting.