On 22 November 2024, China expanded its visa-free entry policy to include Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia and Japan.
On the same day, the visa-free stay was extended from 15 to 30 days, with entry allowed for business, tourism, visits to family and friends and exchanges.
This means the list of countries with visa-free entry to China now includes:
- Switzerland
- Ireland
- Hungary
- Austria
- Belgium
- Luxembourg
- Singapore
- Thailand
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Spain
- Malaysia
- Bulgaria
- Romania
- Croatia
- Montenegro
- North Macedonia
- Malta
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Japan
Most of these visa-free arrangements are unilateral (i.e. Chinese tourists do not have the same visa-free rights in the countries listed above), but Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have reciprocal visa-free agreements in place for Chinese visitors.
The move is part of a wider push to encourage foreign visitors to return to China in the post-pandemic era. And there is some indication that the policies are starting to work. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, an estimated 95 million inbound tourists arrived in China in the first nine months of 2024, a 55.4% increase year-on-year.
China resumed its pre-Covid visa and entry policies in March 2023, including the 144-hour visa-free transit policy, which allows foreign travellers transiting through the country to enjoy a six-day stay in certain Chinese cities without a visa. Since then, the country has rolled out a series of measures to make it easier for foreign visitors to enter the country, including simplified application forms and relaxed requirements for visas on arrival.
There has been no indication of if or when UK visitors can expect to enjoy a similar visa-free entry policy, and the British government has made no specific comment on the announcement. As the South China Morning Post reported, China “remains mindful of geopolitical considerations” and is almost certainly taking this into account when considering which countries to explore visa-free policies with.
The Labour government has been taking steps to establish a more consistent, strategic and pragmatic relationship with China, which has so far included a visit to China by Foreign Secretary David Lammy and a meeting between Prime Minister Kier Starmer and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 – the latter being the first meeting between the heads of state of the two countries in six years.
During this brief but significant engagement, Prime Minister Starmer emphasised the importance of a “strong UK-China relationship” for the benefit of both nations and the broader international community, calling for relations to be “consistent, durable, and respectful”.
In conclusion, while the UK is not included in China’s current visa-free policy, the situation remains dynamic, with the list of visa-free countries updated on a fairly regular basis.
