On November 1, the Chinese Foreign Ministry revealed that China has decided to expand its visa-exemption policy to include nine more countries. Nationals from the nine countries will be granted entry into China for tourism, business, visiting family, or transit purposes without a visa. According to the ministry, these citizens will be allowed to stay for up to fifteen days in China with their ordinary passports. This policy will be in effect from November 8, 2024, through December 31, 2025. The nine countries include Denmark, Monaco, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Andorra, and South Korea.
The expansion policy is a step forward from the recent visa-free entry scheme that the ministry kick-started in December 2023 for the nationals of Malaysia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and The Netherlands. China had previously decided to grant nationals from Australia, New Zealand, and Poland unrestricted entry until December 31, 2025. Following the recent expansion of the policy, several countries have gained visa-free access to China altogether. These countries include Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, and Switzerland.
The purpose of the visa-exemption scheme is “to facilitate the high-quality development of Chinese and foreign personnel exchanges and high-level opening up to the outside world,” Mao Ning, the ministry spokesperson, said at a briefing.
The rate of international travel to China is beginning to rise again since the pandemic-induced crash. With this policy and the nation’s recent investments in tourism infrastructure, the rate of inbound tourism might bounce back soon.