China Allows Visa-Free Entry to People from 6 Countries
From the start of December, visitors from six countries
have been able to enter China without a visa.
Passport holders from France, Germany, Italy,
the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia are now allowed
to visit China without a visa until the end of November 2024.
People from these countries can do business
or travel in China for up to 15 days.
Before now, most visitors needed a visa to visit China,
other than some travelers and business people
from Brunei and Singapore who were staying for up to two weeks.
Japanese passport holders were also previously
able to visit without a visa, but are not able to at the moment.
During the worst of the coronavirus pandemic,
it was very difficult for people to visit China.
But the government now wants to make it easier
for tourists to see what the country has to offer.
China started issuing all types of visas again
in March 2023. But tourist numbers have not
returned to the same levels as before the pandemic.
In 2019, there were 977 million entries and exits by foreigners.
But in the first six months of 2023 there have been just 8.4 million.
Germany's ambassador to China, Patricia Flor,
said the change would help people from Germany
visit China like never before.
She said she would like the visa-free arrangement
to be extended to passport holders from all European Union countries.