Beijing, China
China has now decided to offer 10 days of visa-free travel to international travellers who are coming from 54 countries, announced the National Immigration Administration (NIA) on Tuesday (Dec 17).
The NIA stated that passport holders from 54 countries, which includes Australia, Japan, the United States and countries across Europe, can now remain in some areas of mainland China for up to 10 days when transiting through one of the 60 international ports of the country.
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The NIA said that they will implement the policy immediately.
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The NIA added that eligible passport holders are free to get visa-free transit visiting family members, business or tourism but they will need visas for media interviews, study and work.
It has also added 21 more ports of entry and exit which has brought the total number to 60.
As per the new measures, travellers will be allowed to stay in 24 provincial regions during transit. The government has added five new regions to the list which includes the southern island province of Hainan, the northern province of Shanxi, the southwestern province of Guizhou and the eastern provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu.
The changes will “improve the convenience of entry … and attract more foreigners to travel, do business, visit and exchange with China”, said NIA spokesman Mao Xu on Tuesday morning (Dec 17).
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China will also carry out the work of opening up its immigration management, “promote a larger, broader and deeper opening-up policy, and create a market-oriented, legalised, internationalised and first-class business environment”, said Mao.
In the first 11 months of 2024, China recorded a footfall of more than 29 million foreign visitors, which was a year-on-year increase of 86 per cent.
Around 60 per cent of these travellers entered China without any visa, which was a 123 per cent increase in the same period last year.
(With inputs from agencies)