China To Allow Visa-Free Entry To Travellers From 6 Countries
On March 7, 2024, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that China has expanded its visa-free travel rule to an additional 6 European countries.
China will implement a visa-free policy for the citizens of
- Switzerland,
- Ireland,
- Hungary,
- Austria,
- Belgium and
- Luxembourg.
Travellers who hold passports from the six European states will be able to enter China, visa-free for 15 days, for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, and transit, from March 14, 2024 until November 30, 2024.
Last November, China began a year-long trial of visa-free travel for French, German, Italian, Spanish, Malaysian, and Dutch travellers.
China’s economy continues to suffer after years of zero-Covid policies, amid a failing property market and weak consumption.
China's strict pandemic measures, which included required quarantines for all arrivals, discouraged many people from visiting for nearly three years. The restrictions were lifted early last year, but international travel has yet to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels.
In 2023, China recorded 35.5 million entries and exits by foreign nationals, according to immigration statistics. That compares to 97.7 million for all of 2019 which is the year before the pandemic.
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