The K Visa, launched by the Chinese government in August, comes into effect on October 1.
It is expected to be far more flexible compared to the storied H-1B visa that brought some of the best-known tech leaders, like Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, to Silicon Valley in California. K visa applicants need not have an invitation from a Chinese employer.
Applications opening in October come as a timely coincidence as the Donald Trump administration’s imposing the new price hike on H-1B visas is expected to hit hard, especially Indians, who accounted for over 71% of H-1B approvals in FY24.
The Indian government, on its part, raised that the imposition could have severe “humanitarian consequences”. S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, who is in the US for the UN General Assembly, is expected to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday (September 22).
For China, opening doors to international students has remained a key strategy to boost domestic spending amid a sluggish economy.
On September 16, the government in Beijing set out a 19-point plan to drive consumption, the latest in a series introduced over the past two years, in response to slow economic growth in August.
The plan placed great emphasis on drawing foreign tourists and students to the country by leveraging Chinese culture and tradition and making life in China easier for foreigners.
Also Read: China’s new recipe to energise economy looks beyond domestic spending.
First Published: Sept 22, 2025 2:19 PM IS
