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summary
- China’s visa-free policy has been extended to six more countries, facilitating cross-border exchanges.
- Efforts to increase tourism through visa waivers have significantly increased air flight capacity.
- The effectiveness of the visa-free policy, which is currently valid until 2024, in promoting tourism is evident from the increase in orders and air supply.
On the morning of March 7, during the National People’s Congress session, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a press conference and announced the implementation of a visa-free policy for six countries: Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, and Austria. , Belgium and Luxembourg from March 14th.
China’s pilot visa exemption policy for these six countries is a unilateral visa exemption policy. The policy allows individuals holding ordinary passports from these six countries to enter China visa-free for business, tourism, visiting relatives, or transit purposes for up to 15 days from March 14 to November 30 this year. It becomes like this.
Photo: David Hili | Shutterstock
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference that more countries will provide visa facilitation for Chinese nationals, jointly build a convenient network for cross-border people-to-people exchanges, and accelerate the resumption of international passenger flights. He also expressed his desire to promote the “Chinese citizens will be able to travel freely and their foreign friends will feel at home in China.”
More countries can enjoy visa-free travel to China
This is the second time since the pandemic that China has announced a range of visa-free countries. The first time was on November 24, 2023, during a regular press conference by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Spokesperson Mao Ning announced that China has decided to expand the range of unilateral visa-free countries to facilitate travel for Chinese and foreigners. The policy will allow ordinary passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia to enter the country without a visa.
China to offer 15 days visa-free entry to citizens of six countries
The trial will run until November 2024 and will allow Malaysians and some EU nationals to enter China visa-free for tourism and business purposes.
At that time, Mao Ning said that from December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024, individuals holding ordinary passports from these six countries will not be required to apply for a visa for business, tourism, or visiting relatives. He said they can enter China for up to 15 days. , or for transit purposes.
The visa-free policy for 12 countries in these two batches will remain in effect until November 30, 2024. At this time, there is no information indicating whether the Chinese government will extend these temporary policies after they expire.
Furthermore, in January this year, the Chinese government signed an agreement with Singapore and Thailand granting mutual visa exemptions for 30 days each. Furthermore, from May 2016, Brunei offered a 14-day visa on arrival to Chinese ordinary passport holders. The addition of Malaysia was announced in November last year, and China’s “circle of friends” in Southeast Asia is gradually forming.
Photo: China Southern Airlines
According to data from Chinese online travel platform Ctrip, total inbound tourism orders to China during the 2024 Chinese New Year period from countries such as France, Germany, and Italy, which unilaterally started visa-free treatment from November last year, will increase. The number has doubled compared to the same period in 2019.
As of February this year, of the six countries included in the latest visa-free policy, air transport capacity from Hungary to China has already increased by two compared to the same period in 2019, according to Ctrip data. It had doubled. Air transport capacity from Belgium to China is approximately 90% compared to 2019.
These two countries are expected to see the fastest growth in the number of tourists visiting China. For other countries, air transport capacity has recovered to around 50-60% compared to 2019, with the exception of Ireland, which currently has no flights to China.
U.S. Department of Transportation extends exemption for U.S. airlines to fly to China
Major U.S. airlines may delay the resumption of many flights to China until October.
Can you currently enter China without a visa? Which other countries do you think will have visa-free status for China in the future? Let us know in the comments section.
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