China keeps adding new countries to its visa-free program

Sunday, 29 September 2024

China keeps adding new countries to its visa-free program

by BD Banks

Over the last year, China has taken the uncharacteristic step of slackening its rules for foreign visitors.

In a pilot program meant to bring in tourist dollars post-pandemic, the country has launched a visa-free travel policy allowing citizens of 11 European countries, including France, Germany and Hungary, to spend up to 15 days in China without applying for a visa at the start of 2024. The program proved popular, and Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Poland were eventually added to the list of approved passports one can hold in order to take advantage.

The two countries most recently added to the program that was supposed to run for just six months — but has now been extended into the end of 2025 — are Greece and Slovenia.

These are the countries whose citizens can now also enter China visa-free

At the United Nations General Assembly in New York, China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi and Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister Tanja Fajon announced that they had reached a mutual agreement to allow travel into China (as Slovenia is part of the Schengen Zone of visa-free travel between 29 European countries, granting something equivalent for Chinese nationals comes with greater complications).

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“We are building on the positive relations between Slovenia and China through various activities, especially through economic cooperation,” Fajon said in a statement about the change. “I also welcome the decision to abolish visas for Slovenian citizens, which we have consistently advocated in the past.”

Since the first visa-free travel entry was granted at the start of 2024, thousands of Europeans and other nationals have used it to go on short tours in China — the ultimate goal for a country that has been struggling to bring in tourist dollars after a series of strict lockdown measures during the covid-19 outbreak in 2020.

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Due to a history of strained relationships between Beijing and Washington D.C., U.S. citizens are not included in the list of nations for whom visa-free travel is accessible.

But even so, the Chinese government has still taken steps to make it easier for Americans (and Canadians) to come into the country. While they formerly needed to put together an extensive visa application package showing proof of booked travel and accommodation before a visa would be granted, one can now apply at a home embassy with just one’s work history and identifying documents.

There is now also the expanded “List of Countries Eligible for the 72/144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy,” in which visitors from 53 countries, including the U.S., can visit select cities such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, Shanghai and Guangdong visa-free for short stays of up to 144 hours.

The program is most commonly used by those coming to China on a cruise stop or transiting on the way through a wider tour of Asia.

“The extension of the short-term visa-free policy until the end of 2025 will undoubtedly further boost confidence and enthusiasm for traveling to China, and will contribute to the growth of inbound tourism as well as aid in the prosperity of the industry,” president of the China Tourism Academy Dai Bin said to a local news outlet earlier this year.