Category: Asia Pacific

Visas, Immigration & Nationality

EU Warning: ETIAS Not Yet Operational

Countries required to use Etias have been warned of fraud opportunities around the upcoming Etias European visa waiver. ETIAS will allow visitors from visa-waiver countries to freely travel through 30 European countries for up to 90 days for tourism, transit, or business.  The travel waiver doesn’t come into effect until November 2023, however, some scammers…
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China Relaxes Some Travel Restrictions For International Travellers

China has been among the most restrictive countries in the world when it came to travel amidst the pandemic. The Chinese government has been implementing aggressive contact tracing, regular testing, forced quarantine and strict lockdown measures to prevent COVID transmission. After almost three years, the country is now easing some of those restrictions. China relaxed…
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A Third of Hong Kongers Seeking UK Visas Were Below 18

About 38,000 citizens of Hong Kong under the age of 18 have filed an application for the UK’s British National (Overseas) visa scheme, however, the majority of requests are from residents in their prime working years. According to the figures published by Bloomberg, of the total of 142,000 citizens of Hong Kong who applied for…
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EU Council Fully Suspends Vanuatu’s Visa Waiver Agreement 

The Council of the European Union has decided to fully suspend the visa-free travel agreement with Vanuatu. The decision to fully suspend the visa waiver agreement with Vanuatu was taken due to the risks posed by the latter’s investor citizenship schemes, known also as the golden passport schemes. A partial suspension of this agreement was…
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Latvia’s Capital Introduces Tourist Fee In 2023

Starting in January 2023, Riga will be the latest European destination to charge a tourist fee for overnight stays.  Tourists visiting Riga will be subject to a €1 fee per visitor for every night they spend in the capital. However, the maximum charged amount will be 10 euros, meaning that tourists staying in the city…
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