China expands visa exemption list but no joy for SA
China has added several more countries to its visa exemption list but South Africa has not been included.
China has again extended its list of nations eligible for visa-free entry.
Passport holders from 38 nations may therefore enter China without being subject to visa requirements.
South Africa has not been included in this list, despite its membership to Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) which now also includes various other countries.
Nonetheless, South Africans still have several attractive visa-free destinations.
CHINA ADDS COUNTRIES TO VISA EXEMPTION LIST
Visasnews reports that China has indeed added nine countries to its list of visa exempt nations.
The countries include Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia and Japan.
Passport holders from these countries will be able to take advantage of visa-exempt entry until the end of 2025.
However, the arrangement is an experimental initiative.
Furthermore, these new visa exemptions come into place on 30 November.
“In order to further facilitate exchanges between China and foreign countries, China has decided to expand the scope of visa-free countries. Thus, from November 30, 2024 to December 31, 2025, it will implement a visa-free policy on an experimental basis for ordinary passport holders from Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia and Japan,” the China’s Foreign Ministry says.
VISA-FREE ENTRY POLICY
Last December China introduced an experimental, visa-waiver programme for passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia.
Tourists and business travellers from these countries could thus enter China for up to 15 days without a visa.
However, during 2024 China also added additional nations to this list.
Several other nations are now also eligible for the visa-waiver programme.
So, from 30 November 2024, the nations that will be able to enter China for visa-free stays include:
- Andorra
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Switzerland
EXTENDED TO 30 DAYS
Moreover, passport holders from these nations can stay for up to 30 days without requiring visas.
Chinese diplomats say that China has “decided to simultaneously optimize its entry policy by including exchange visits as a purpose of visa exemption and extend the visa-free stay period from the current 15 days to 30 days.”
VISA EXEMPTION LIST BOOSTS CHINA TOURISM
In fact, during the third quarter of 2024, China welcomed 8.19 million foreign visitors.
Significantly, this marks a 48.8% increase compared to the same period last year.
Visasnews reports that 4.89 million visitors entered China under the visa-waiver scheme.
Markedly, this represents a year-on-year increase of 78.6%.
It is hoped that the visa-waiver will boost tourism to China while also improving diplomatic relations with nations.
Would you visit China if there were no visa-entry requirements?
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