The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced an extension of its 15-day visa-free entry policy to six more European Countries.
A Welcome Relaxation of Visa Requirements for China
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced an extension of its 15-day visa-free entry policy to six more European Countries. At the 2024 National People’s Congress, Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered the 2024 Government Work Report, setting growth and development targets for the country in the year to come – including an expansion of the visa-free policy.
Pre-Covid, the PRC extended visa-free access for up to 15-day periods solely to the countries of Japan, Brunei and Singapore for purposes of tourism, business, visiting relatives and friends, or transit. In Summer 2023, the 15-day visa free travel policy resumed for citizens of Brunei and Singapore, and has been extended to a number of other countries in two batches since.
The first six new countries post-Covid to benefit from this policy were France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Malaysia; holders of ordinary passports from these states may enter China visa-free. In March, Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced an extension of the policy to another six European countries including Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg and Switzerland. In the worldwide post-Covid economic lull, China has taken swift action to encourage fiscal growth, removing all restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector, introducing further measures to boost consumption, and by increasing the ease of access to China from their main trading nations.
Citizens from the following countries can travel to China without a visa for up to 30 days for the purposes of tourism, travel, business and visiting family or friends:
| Fiji | Maria Anders | The Seychelles |
| The Bahamas | Grenada | Singapore |
| Barbados | The Maldiives | Suriname |
| Belarus | Mauritius | The United Arab Emirates |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | San Marino | |
| Dominica | Serbia |
Citizens from the following countries can travel to China without a visa for up to 15 days for the purposes of tourism, travel, business and visiting family or friends:
| Austria | Hungary | The Netherlands |
| Belgium | Ireland | Spain |
| France | Italy | Switzerland |
| Germany | Luxembourg |
Citizens from the following countries can apply for a six-day entry permit to certain Chinese cities upon arrival at the port of entry; however, they must also show a connecting ticket to a third country on arrival in China:
| Albania | Finland | Portugal |
| Argentina | Greece | Qatar |
| Australia | Iceland | Romania |
| Brazil | Japan | Russia |
| Bulgaria | Latvia | Slovakia |
| Canada | Lithuania | Slovenia |
| Chile | Malta | South Korea |
| Croatia | Mexico | Sweden |
| Croatia | Mexico | Sweden |
| Cyprus | Monaco | Ukraine |
| Czech Republic | Montenegro | The United Kingdom |
| Denmark | New Zealand | The United States |
| Estonia | Norway |
Wherever you need to travel, for whatever reason, we at ACS have the expertise to get you there. We’ve arranged countless charters to and from the PRC, and know and understand that our clients require more than an aircraft to transport them from A to B. Provide us with your requirements, destination, budget, passenger count, and let us take care of the rest.
Contact your local ACS charter expert to discover how we help your business take off.