China's Visa-Free Policy To Boost Tourism Excludes Pakistan

In a bid to boost tourism, China has eased its visa-free transit policy, allowing travellers from 54 countries to stay for up to 10 days. According to the National Immigration Administration (NIA), citizens of these countries can now enter China without a visa and stay for 240 hours, or 10 days. Notably, while countries like the United States, Britain, Canada, Russia, and Brazil are included in the list, India and Pakistan are notably absent.

The recent policy change follows an expansion of China’s visa-free program, which aims to encourage inbound tourism, particularly in smaller cities. In November, China added 18 countries, including Japan and South Korea, to its visa-free list. Citizens from these nations are now permitted to enter for up to 30 days without a visa for business, tourism, and other purposes.

On November 1, China launched a trial program extending visa-free entry to citizens of Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, and South Korea. On November 22, the policy was further extended to Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, and Japan, bringing the total number of countries covered by the policy to 38.

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As of December 1, 2023, China began implementing unilateral visa-free entry for citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia. These efforts have been gradually expanded to a total of 38 countries, with the visa-free duration for ordinary passport holders now extended from 15 days to 30 days for various purposes such as business, tourism, family visits, and transit.

Data from the National Immigration Administration revealed a significant increase in foreign visits to China, with 8.186 million inbound passenger trips recorded in the third quarter of this year, marking a 48.8 per cent year-on-year rise. Of these, 4.885 million trips were made under the visa-free policy, reflecting a notable 78.6 per cent growth compared to the same period in 2023.

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