BEIJING (Reuters) – China will offer visa-free travel to nationals from Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Australia, Belgium and Luxemborg from March 14, foreign minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.
Foreign nationals from 54 countries are currently eligible for the 72/144-hour transit visa-free policies which are effective at 31 ports in 23 cities of 18 provinces in China.
These countries include Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Passengers from these countries holding valid international travel documents and interline tickets with confirmed dates and seats, who are going to transit to third countries (or regions) via China within specific time frames, can apply for visa-free transit at the entry/exit border inspection authorities in the designated visa-free transit city ports.
The authorities will handle all temporary entry procedures, with the duration of stay of each passenger to be calculated from 00:00 on the day following entry.