India's Visa Restriction on Chinese Workers Affects Taiwan tech giants

The ongoing tension between India and China is having a negative impact on some of Taiwan’s biggest technology companies, such as suppliers of Apple and that hindering New Delhi’s much-vaunted incentive program for electronics manufacturing.

Howewer, it is been stated that India has been delaying the process of issuing visa to Chinese engineers who are to aid Taiwanese companies set up factories in the South Asian nation.

In 2020, as iPhone assemblers such as- Foxconn Technology Group, Pegatron Corp., and Wistron Corp., Along with many others had pledged $1.5 billion to develop mobile-phone plants in India after the Modi government had offered them specially-designed incentives to manufacture their products locally for global export. The move was also expected to shift its supply lines to India from China.

Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of the India Cellular and Electronics Association says, “Visas are an important resource to help expand domestic manufacturing and the government has to balance its existing policies with the genuine and short-term requirements of technical manpower for setting up new factories. We are hopeful that this issue will be addressed soon to everyone’s satisfaction soon.”

As tensions with China escalated along their Himalayan border over the summer last year, New Delhi stepped up curbs on Chinese activity in the country, that has put in extra scrutiny for visas for Chinese businessmen, academics, industry experts, and advocacy groups. The measures are similar to those that have long been employed with arch-rival and neighbor Pakistan.

Apart from the delays in granting visas the Indian government has indicated a preference for issuing employment visas instead of business visas for people required to set up the production lines that are being imported by companies, the people said.

Employment visas typically require more paperwork and background checks from India’s home ministry, and could therefore be the reason for India’s insistence. Business visas are also shorter duration.

The incentive program for mobile-makers alone envisages the production of smartphones worth 10.5 trillion rupees and exports of 6.5 trillion rupees over the next five years. It is likely to create over 800,000 jobs.

The New Delhi-based Taipei Economic Cultural Center and spokespersons for the department of industry, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the foreign ministry did not immediately comment on the matter. China’s Foreign Ministry also didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. Wistron and Pegatron declined to comment while Foxconn did not respond to emailed questions.