15.05.2025 12:11
China has announced that it will grant visa exemptions to citizens of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay in order to increase travel after COVID-19. This regulation will be valid from June 12, 2025, to May 31, 2026.
China has announced that it will include five Latin American countries in its unilateral visa exemption program aimed at increasing foreign travel to the country following the COVID-19 pandemic. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Cien stated in a press release that citizens of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay will benefit from visa exemption. Accordingly, holders of regular passports from these countries will be able to travel to China without a visa for up to 30 days between June 12, 2025, and May 31, 2026.
NUMBER OF COUNTRIES WITH VISA EXEMPTION RISES TO 43
The visa exemption will be limited to business, tourism, family visits, and transit travel. With the inclusion of the five countries in the visa exemption program, the number of countries benefiting from unilateral visa exemption has reached 43. The visa exemption decision came after the 4th Ministerial Conference of the China-Latin America and Caribbean Countries Community (CELAC) Forum held in the capital Beijing on May 13.
VISA EXEMPTION REGULATIONS
The Beijing administration aims to stimulate travel and tourism from abroad, which were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, by establishing visa exemption arrangements with different countries to encourage travel to China. The Chinese government had granted unilateral visa-free travel for 15 days to citizens of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Malaysia for one year starting from December 1, 2023. China signed a mutual visa exemption agreement limited to 30 days with Singapore on January 26, 2024, and an unlimited mutual visa exemption agreement with Thailand on January 28, 2024.
CHINA EXPANDS VISA-FREE EXEMPTION NETWORK
Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg were included in the visa exemption program starting from March 14, 2024, while Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, and Japan were included starting from November 30, 2024. Additionally, China has extended the visa-free transit period to 10 days for citizens of 54 countries traveling to other countries. Currently, China applies mutual visa exemption for holders of standard passports from 18 countries. There are also mutual visa exemption agreements for diplomatic, special, and service passport holders with many countries, including Turkey.