China to reopen to tourists, resume issuing all visas after three-year halt
-
Loading... - Samarth Singh
- 14 Mar 2023
- 70 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
China is one of the last major countries to reopen its borders to tourists. The announcement on Tuesday came after it declared a “decisive victory” over COVID-19 in February.
China will reopen its borders to tourists and resume issuing all visas on Wednesday after a three-year halt during the pandemic as it sought to boost its tourism and economy.
China is one of the last major countries to reopen its borders to tourists. The announcement on Tuesday came after it declared a “decisive victory” over COVID-19 in February.
All types of visas will resume from Wednesday. Visa-free entry also will resume at destinations such as Hainan island as well as for cruise ships entering Shanghai that had no visa requirement before COVID-19.
Foreigners holding visas issued before March 28, 2020, that are still valid will be allowed to enter China. Visa-free entry will resume for foreigners entering Guangdong in southern China from Hong Kong and Macao. The notice didn’t specify whether vaccination certificates or negative COVID-19 tests would be required, but Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters on Tuesday that China had “optimized measures for remote testing of people coming to China from relevant countries”, allowing pre-boarding antigen testing instead of nucleic acid testing.
“All these have been well implemented, and the epidemic risk is generally controllable,” Wang said at a daily briefing.
The move would “further facilitate the exchange of Chinese and foreign personnel,” according to the notice posted on the websites of numerous Chinese missions and embassies. Read More…
