China’s Visa Exemption Policy Extended to 14 Countries
Published 19 June 2024
Xia Yu
During his mid-June 2024 visit to the Australasia, Chinese Premier, Li Qiang, confirmed that New Zealand and Australia would be included in its list of unilateral visa-free countries. On 24 November 2023, China announced the implementation of a trial unilateral visa-free policy for six countries including France and Germany. In the past six months, the number of China’s unilateral visa-free countries has expanded to 14 countries. This article will briefly introduce and analyze China’s unilateral visa exemption policy.
On 24 November 2023, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (“MOFCOM”) issued a notice on the trial implementation of a unilateral visa-free policy for five European countries including France and Germany and Malaysia. According to the notice, from 1 December 2023 to 30 November 2024, citizens holding ordinary passports from six countries, such as France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia, who come to China for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, or transit for no more than 15 days can enter without a visa. On 7 March 2024, MOFCOM announced that to further promote personnel exchanges between China and foreign countries, China has decided to add six European countries, namely Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg, to the trial unilateral visa-free policy, and the trial period is from 14 March to 30 November 2024. Two months later, during Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to France, China announced that it would extend the trial period of the trial unilateral visa-free policy for short-term visitors to China from citizens of these 12 countries to 31 December 2025. Considering that most of the countries eligible for the trial visa-free policy are European countries, and the China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement drafted on 30 December 2020 was indefinitely frozen by the European Parliament, China seems to be exploring new solutions to promote economic and trade cooperation with European countries.
By the news of Xinhua News Agency, on 14 June 2024, Chinese Premier Li Qiang mentioned that China would include New Zealand in the scope of the unilateral visa-free countries in his speech at the welcome banquet during his visit to New Zealand. On the morning of 17 June 2024, Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced that it would include Australia in the scope of unilateral visa-free countries at a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Albanese at the Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, and China and Australia agreed to issue 3 to 5-year multiple-entry visas to each other for tourists, business and family visits. China’s announcement of the unilateral visa-free policy for New Zealand and Australia proves that China attaches as much importance to the markets of these two countries as it does to the European market.
On 27 September 2023, Several Measures for Unlocking the Potential of Tourism Consumption and Promoting the High-Quality Development of Tourism (“Measures”) was approved by China’s State Council. To promote the high-quality development of China's tourism industry, the Measures propose to restore various visa-free policies in an orderly manner and actively study to increase the number of visa-free countries. The trial unilateral visa-free policy announced by MOFCOM on 24 November 2023 is only a trial measure to restore China’s unilateral visa-free policy which has applied for nearly 20 years.
In June 2003, MOFCOM announced that from 1 July 2003, citizens of Singapore and Brunei holding ordinary passports who come to China for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, and transit for a short period of 15 days will be exempted from visa application. Under this unilateral visa-free policy, China and Singapore’s economic and trade relations have continued to strengthen. Since 2013, China has become Singapore’s largest trading partner for 9 consecutive years, and Singapore has become China's largest source of new investment for 9 consecutive years. As a result, China and Singapore signed the Agreement on Mutual Exemption of Visas for Ordinary Passport Holders between the two countries on 25 January 2024. According to the Agreement, ordinary passport holders of both countries can enter the other country without a visa for personal matters such as tourism, visiting relatives, business, etc., and stay for no more than 30 days. Those who enter the other country for work, news reporting, and other activities that require prior approval, or intend to stay in the other country for more than 30 days, must obtain the corresponding visa before entering the other country.
Based on more than 20 years of implementation experience of the unilateral visa-free policy in Singapore and other countries, China believes that this policy is conducive to expanding its economic and trade development space. The announcement of the unilateral visa-free policy for 11 European countries, New Zealand and Australia indicates that China is willing to develop more long-term and stable economic and trade relations in these regions and may develop economic and trade cooperation with these countries in the Singapore model.
On 24 November 2023, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (“MOFCOM”) issued a notice on the trial implementation of a unilateral visa-free policy for five European countries including France and Germany and Malaysia. According to the notice, from 1 December 2023 to 30 November 2024, citizens holding ordinary passports from six countries, such as France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia, who come to China for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, or transit for no more than 15 days can enter without a visa. On 7 March 2024, MOFCOM announced that to further promote personnel exchanges between China and foreign countries, China has decided to add six European countries, namely Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg, to the trial unilateral visa-free policy, and the trial period is from 14 March to 30 November 2024. Two months later, during Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to France, China announced that it would extend the trial period of the trial unilateral visa-free policy for short-term visitors to China from citizens of these 12 countries to 31 December 2025. Considering that most of the countries eligible for the trial visa-free policy are European countries, and the China-EU Comprehensive Investment Agreement drafted on 30 December 2020 was indefinitely frozen by the European Parliament, China seems to be exploring new solutions to promote economic and trade cooperation with European countries.
By the news of Xinhua News Agency, on 14 June 2024, Chinese Premier Li Qiang mentioned that China would include New Zealand in the scope of the unilateral visa-free countries in his speech at the welcome banquet during his visit to New Zealand. On the morning of 17 June 2024, Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced that it would include Australia in the scope of unilateral visa-free countries at a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Albanese at the Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, and China and Australia agreed to issue 3 to 5-year multiple-entry visas to each other for tourists, business and family visits. China’s announcement of the unilateral visa-free policy for New Zealand and Australia proves that China attaches as much importance to the markets of these two countries as it does to the European market.
On 27 September 2023, Several Measures for Unlocking the Potential of Tourism Consumption and Promoting the High-Quality Development of Tourism (“Measures”) was approved by China’s State Council. To promote the high-quality development of China's tourism industry, the Measures propose to restore various visa-free policies in an orderly manner and actively study to increase the number of visa-free countries. The trial unilateral visa-free policy announced by MOFCOM on 24 November 2023 is only a trial measure to restore China’s unilateral visa-free policy which has applied for nearly 20 years.
In June 2003, MOFCOM announced that from 1 July 2003, citizens of Singapore and Brunei holding ordinary passports who come to China for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, and transit for a short period of 15 days will be exempted from visa application. Under this unilateral visa-free policy, China and Singapore’s economic and trade relations have continued to strengthen. Since 2013, China has become Singapore’s largest trading partner for 9 consecutive years, and Singapore has become China's largest source of new investment for 9 consecutive years. As a result, China and Singapore signed the Agreement on Mutual Exemption of Visas for Ordinary Passport Holders between the two countries on 25 January 2024. According to the Agreement, ordinary passport holders of both countries can enter the other country without a visa for personal matters such as tourism, visiting relatives, business, etc., and stay for no more than 30 days. Those who enter the other country for work, news reporting, and other activities that require prior approval, or intend to stay in the other country for more than 30 days, must obtain the corresponding visa before entering the other country.
Based on more than 20 years of implementation experience of the unilateral visa-free policy in Singapore and other countries, China believes that this policy is conducive to expanding its economic and trade development space. The announcement of the unilateral visa-free policy for 11 European countries, New Zealand and Australia indicates that China is willing to develop more long-term and stable economic and trade relations in these regions and may develop economic and trade cooperation with these countries in the Singapore model.