China's Growing Visa-Free List
With this, 27 countries are now part of the China visa-waiver program. These include 24 European nations, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.
China also has bilateral visa-waiver agreements with Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Last month, China announced visa-free entry for citizens of five European countries — Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, and Slovenia starting October 15.
Earlier additions include Norway in September and Poland in July. Citizens of these nations can enter China without a visa, a perk extended until December 31, 2025. This follows an initial trial period that began last November.
In the third quarter of this year, foreign entries into China reached 8.2 million through various ports, a 49% increase year-on-year, according to the National Immigration Administration. Of these, 4.9 million were visa-free entries, showing a surge of nearly 79%.
Between January and July this year, China brought in over 17.25 million foreign tourists — a 130% increase compared to 2023.
However, China's inbound arrivals are still far away from its 2019 numbers, when it had over 49 million overseas visitors.
International tourism revenue reached $131.3 billion that year.
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