China has expanded its visa waiver program, adding Australia as the latest country offering visa-free entry.
The announcement was made after a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The two also revealed that Australian citizens will be able to visit China for up to 15 days for business tourism and close friend visits, according to a report from VisaGuide.World.
Considering Australians can travel to China without applying for a visa, this would save Australians around $110.
We have agreed to provide each other with five-year multiple-entry visas for tourism, business and family visits to facilitate smoother people-to-people exchanges.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang
Other countries recently added to China’s visa-exempt list include:
New Zealand Singapore France Japan Spain Netherlands Malaysia Thailand
China extends visa-free travel until end of 2025
China had initially announced that the visa-free policy would be on a trial basis until November 30 this year, but has now extended it until December 31, 2025. With the recent addition of Australia and New Zealand, the total number of countries that can enjoy visa-free travel to China now stands at 14.
Moreover, China signed a 30-day reciprocal visa-waiver agreement with Singapore effective from March 1, and a similar arrangement with Thailand, allowing visa-free visits of up to 30 days per entry.
Visa requirements have also been relaxed for U.S. citizens visiting the U.S. on a tourist visa, eliminating the need to provide proof of round-trip airfare, hotel reservations, travel itinerary, or invitation.
On May 15, the Chinese government introduced a visa-free policy for foreign tourist groups arriving on cruise ships, allowing them to stay in China for up to 15 days without a visa.
Under visa waiver policy, number of foreign visitors to China surges in just two months of 2024
In the first two months of 2024, China saw a significant increase in foreign tourists following its new visa-free entry policy. During this period, the number of foreign tourists travelling to and from China reached 2.95 million.
According to data from China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA), the above figure represents a 2.3-fold increase compared to November-December 2023, reaching 41.5% of pre-pandemic levels.
In the first quarter of this year, China issued 466,000 visas and documents to foreigners, up 119 percent from last year, while about 1.99 million foreigners entered China without a visa, up 266 percent from last year.
Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, explained that China’s inbound tourism industry has huge potential and if it could be raised to the international average of 1.5% of GDP, it could generate more than $179 billion in growth.
