Over the past year, China has taken the unusual step of relaxing its rules for foreign visitors.
In a pilot program aimed at attracting tourist dollars after the pandemic, the country has launched a visa-free travel policy that allows citizens of 11 European countries, including France, Germany and Hungary, to spend up to 15 days in China without applying. a visa. visa in early 2024. The program proved popular and Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Poland were eventually added to the list of approved passports that can be held to take advantage of.
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The two most recently added countries to the program that was supposed to last only six months (but has now been extended until the end of 2025) are Greece and Slovenia.
These are the countries whose citizens can now also enter China without a visa
At the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Slovenian Vice Prime Minister Tanja Fajon announced that they had reached a mutual agreement to allow travel to China (since Slovenia It is part of the visa-free Schengen zone. traveling between 29 European countries, granting something equivalent to Chinese nationals entails greater complications).
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“We are building on the positive relations between Slovenia and China through various activities, especially through economic cooperation,” Fajon said in a statement about the change. “I also welcome the decision to abolish visas for Slovenian citizens, something we have consistently defended in the past.”
Since the first entry for visa-free travel was granted in early 2024, thousands of Europeans and other citizens have used it to take short trips to China, the ultimate goal for a country that has been struggling to attract tourist dollars after a series of strict lockdown measures during the covid-19 outbreak in 2020.
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American and want to visit China? There is still some good news.
Due to a history of strained relations between Beijing and Washington DC, US citizens are not included in the list of nations to which visa-free travel can be made.
But still, the Chinese government has taken steps to make it easier for Americans (and Canadians) to enter the country. While they previously needed to prepare an extensive visa application package showing proof of travel and accommodation booked before the visa was granted, now one can apply at their country's embassy with only their work history and identification documents.
Now there is also the expanded “List of countries eligible for 72/144 hours visa-free transit policy”, in which visitors from 53 countries, including the United States, can visit selected cities such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area , Shanghai and Guangdong visa-free for short stays of up to 144 hours.
The program is most commonly used by those arriving in China on a cruise stopover or in transit en route through a broader tour of Asia.
“The extension of the short-term visa-free policy until the end of 2025 will undoubtedly further increase confidence and enthusiasm for traveling to China, and contribute to the growth of inbound tourism as well as the prosperity of the industry.” China Tourism Academy president Dai Bin told a local media outlet earlier this year.
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