China keeps adding new countries to its visa-free program

Over the past year, China has taken the uncharacteristic step of slackening its rules for foreign visitors.

In a pilot program meant to herald tourist dollars post-pandemic, the U.S. of a has launched a visa-free shuttle policy allowing citizens of Eleven European countries, including France, Germany and Hungary, to spend as much as 15 days in China without applying for a visa originally of 2024. This system proved popular, and Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Poland were at last added to the list of approved passports you are going to hold on the style to take advantage.

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The 2 countries most recently added to this system that turned into supposed to run for just six months — but has now been extended into the tip of 2025 — are Greece and Slovenia.

These are the countries whose citizens can now also enter China visa-free

At the United Nations General Assembly in New York, China's Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi and Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister Tanja Fajon announced that they'd reached a mutual agreement to allow shuttle into China (as Slovenia is a section of the Schengen Zone of visa-free shuttle between 29 European countries, granting something equivalent for Chinese nationals comes with greater complications).

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"We are building on the positive relations between Slovenia and China through a substantial choice of activities, in particular through economic cooperation," Fajon said in an announcement in regards to the change. "I also welcome the choice to abolish visas for Slovenian citizens, which now we have got got consistently advocated inside of the past."

The reason is, first visa-free shuttle entry turned into granted originally of 2024, thousands of Europeans and other nationals have used it to maneuver on short tours in China — the last word goal for a country that has been struggling to herald tourist dollars after a series of strict lockdown measures within the course of the covid-19-19 outbreak in 2020.

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Brought on by a history of strained relationships between Beijing and Washington D.C., U.S. citizens in the interim are no longer included inside of the list of countries for whom visa-free shuttle is on hand.

But even so, the Chinese government has still taken steps to make it easier for Americans (and Canadians) to come into the U.S. of a. While they formerly needed to place together an extensive visa application package showing proof of booked shuttle and accommodation earlier than a visa should be granted, you are going to now apply at a house embassy with only 1's work history and identifying documents.

There is now also the expanded "List of Countries Eligible for the Seventy two/one hundred forty four-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy," wherein visitors from fifty three countries, including the U.S., can talk over with percent out cities equivalent to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, Shanghai and Guangdong visa-free for brief stays of as much as as a minimum one hundred forty four hours.

This system is most on the total used by those coming to China on a cruise stop or transiting on the style through a wider tour of Asia.

"The extension of the short-term visa-free policy until the tip of 2025 will evidently in the same fashion boost self assurance and enthusiasm for traveling to China, and will contribute to the growth of inbound tourism along with to aid inside of the prosperity of the industry," president of the China Tourism Academy Dai Bin said to a neighborhood news outlet earlier this year.

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