New Delhi
12 November 2009
All Indian citizens intending to travel to China have been advised that before
making any travel arrangements they should ascertain from the Chinese embassy or
consulate/s whether the visa being issued to them will be affixed to the passport or will
be in the nature of a stapled paper visa.
In an advisory made public here Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that it
has come to the attention of the Government that the Chinese embassy and the Chinese
consulates in Mumbai and Kolkata are issuing visas on a separate piece of paper
stapled to the passport, rather than pasted as is the usual practice, to certain categories
of Indian nationals on the basis of their domicile, ethnicity and/or place of issue of the
passport.
"Such paper visas stapled to the passport are not considered valid for travel out of the
country," the advisory read.
All Indian nationals applying for Chinese visa have been told to be careful so that they
are not inconvenienced or put to any financial loss later on this count.
The advisory comes in the wake of the reports that some students and businessmen
from Jammu and Kashmir were given visa by the Chinese embassy on a separate piece
of paper, stapled to the passport. Immigration officials at the airport denied permission
to such travellers to fly out. The visas were stamped on separate papers as was the
practice for those hailing from Arunachal Pradesh.
The action with regard to Kashmiri travellers is seen as an attempt by China to question
the status of Jammu and Kashmir as part of India.
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