China announced on Tuesday a relaxation of its visa-free transit policy, extending the permitted stay for eligible foreign travellers to 240 hours, or 10 days, from the original 72-144 hours.
The measure, which is effective immediately, was announced by the National Immigration Administration (NIA) on its official WeChat account, and is seen as a move to lure more foreign visitors.
People from 54 countries including Russia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, “who transit from China to a third country (region), can enter China without a visa from any of the 60 open ports in 24 provinces and stay in the specified area for no more than 240 hours,” it said, Reuters reported.
China, since reopening its borders in 2023 after three years of self-imposed isolation due to COVID-19, has waived visa requirements for travellers to encourage visitation to the world’s second-largest economy.
In November the country’s Foreign Ministry said China had extended its visa-free policy to a total of 38 countries.
People from these countries including Spain, Singapore and the Netherlands, do not need a visa to enter China and can stay for up to 30 days for business, tourism, family visit, exchange and transit purposes.
Foreigners made 8.2 million inbound trips to the country, up 48.8 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2024.
More than half of these were facilitated by the visa-free policy, up 78.6 per cent year-on-year, the NIA said in October.
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