India makes e-B-4 business visa mandatory for Chinese investors, ends paper applications

On 6 March 2026 the Indian Embassy in Beijing confirmed that, effective 1 January, it has stopped issuing paper visas for the Production-Investment Business category (e-B-4). Chinese applicants must now use India’s online e-Visa portal; paper submissions are no longer accepted. The e-B-4 visa—introduced in 2025 to fast-track technicians setting up manufacturing lines, installing equipment or training local staff—initially operated in parallel with a consular-sticker option. According to embassy data, duplicative workflows delayed approvals by up to two weeks. Moving fully digital should cut processing to 72 hours, important for companies racing to meet production-linked-incentive (PLI) deadlines in sectors such as EV batteries and consumer electronics. It also dovetails with India’s IVFRT modernisation programme, which aims to digitise 100 % of arrival and visa processes by 2027. Chinese firms welcome the speed gains but caution that India’s portal rejects passports without ICAO-compliant photos, causing a spike in error messages. Mobility managers are advised to test uploads in advance and maintain a backup India-based sponsor letter in case the portal flags incomplete address data. The embassy says it will expand the e-B-4 model to Japan and South Korea later in 2026, signalling a broader shift away from paper business visas.