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China Visa Related News and Information
Macao,
Brazil Swaps Visa-free Access
China's
Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and Brazil
have started to offer each other visa-free access for a
maximum stay of 90 days. A press release issued here on
Wednesday by Macao's Information Bureau said the mutual
visa-free access pact has been effective since March 24,
2006. There are currently 69 countries and territories
having agreed to grant visa-free access or
visa-on-arrival to MSAR passport holders, said the
release.
Starting
September 1, 2003 Japanese businessmen and tourists will
not require visas for brief visits to China.
As is
now the case for tourists from Singapore and Brunei,
Japanese visitors will be permitted to stay in China for
up to 15 days without a visa.
Shanghai to
Change Foreigner Visa Alteration Process
Shanghai will
change the way it handles some aspects of foreigner visa
alteration, which includes such services as change of
visa type, extension, etc.
The
application process will definitely change. And
according to a source within the Shanghai visa office,
other changes - such as duration of stay for various
visas are in store, as well.
The changes
are designed to bring greater flexibility and ease to
the visa alteration process.
Visa Safe, But No Use to
Stranded Tourists
Shanghai Daily
Mar. 28, 2007 -
A group of French tourists arriving
at Pudong International Airport on Monday narrowly
escaped being sent back home after immigration police
discovered their visas were 9,000 kilometers away - and
locked in a safe. The 34
tourists, all aged over 60, including one in a
wheelchair, were looking forward to a tour of China
organized by a French travel agency.
However, when the group reached
immigration they were denied entry because they held
only photocopies of their group visa.
The tourists
were traveling without a representative of their travel
agency, so immigration authorities phoned it up only to
find that the original group visa was still sitting in a
safe in France. It had been mistakenly left there by the
assistant in charge of the tourists' travel plans.
"According to
immigration law, the seniors should have been told to
fly back home because they lacked the legal visa
documents," said Lin Heping, an immigration police
officer.
However, after
an investigation to confirm details of the China tour,
immigration authorities issued all group members with
landing visas and they were allowed to leave the airport
five hours after touching down.
"Many of the
seniors told us that it was their first trip to China
and they had waited a long time to make the journey,"
said Liu.
Liu, however,
warned other travelers that this was a special case.
"Visitors must
have an invitation from a limited number of authorized
high-level local government authorities or entities to
apply for landing visas according to law."
Liu reminded
foreign travelers to bring original copies of their
visas to China to avoid problems.
The group of
elderly French tourists were due to start their China
tour in Suzhou, a popular travel destination in Jiangsu
Province.
Visa Safe,
But No Use to Stranded Tourists
Shanghai Daily
Mar. 28, 2007 -
A group of French tourists arriving
at Pudong International Airport on Monday narrowly
escaped being sent back home after immigration police
discovered their visas were 9,000 kilometers away - and
locked in a safe. The 34
tourists, all aged over 60, including one in a
wheelchair, were looking forward to a tour of China
organized by a French travel agency.
However, when the group reached
immigration they were denied entry because they held
only photocopies of their group visa. (Click
for full report.)
China
Simplifies Border Entry, Exit Formalities
Xinhua News
Agency December 21, 2006
-
All Chinese citizens,
including Taiwan residents, will be able to enter China
without filling forms from Jan. 1, 2007, the Ministry of
Public Security has announced.
"All
Chinese citizens including mainland residents, Taiwanese
and overseas Chinese will not be required to fill entry
registration cards at border checkpoint. This will
greatly shorten the processing time," said a spokesman
for the ministry. The card
includes personal information such as name, gender,
birth date, passport number, purpose of visit and
passport issue place.
The ministry has operated
entry and exit card procedures since March 1976.
However, the rapid increase in international travelers
has put enormous pressure on border checkpoints.
China recorded
more than 302 million entries and exits last year,
including more than 40 million foreigners, up 19.9
percent from 2004, and almost 262 million Chinese
citizens, up 8.42 percent.China's booming economy and
deepening reforms were making overseas travel easier for
Chinese, he said.
Mainland
residents bound for Hong Kong and Macao special
autonomous regions and Chinese tourist groups to foreign
countries, together accounting for two thirds of border
crossings in 2005, are not required to fill entry or
exit cards.
China
Promises to Make Visa Application Easier for Olympics
Xinhua News,
Jan. 26,
2007China's public security authorities on Thursday
promised to improve visa application procedures so
foreigners involved in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing will
find it easier to enter the country.
"Anyone with valid Olympic Identity
and Accreditation Cards (OIAC) will enjoy visa-free
entry into China one month before and after the
Olympics," said Li Changyou, deputy director of the
Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration with the
Ministry of Public Security.
The OIAC is a personalized card granted by the
International Olympic Committee, which gives its holder
the right to attend the Olympic Games for participation
or in a work capacity. Li said
that China had already relaxed some requirements,
including the granting of one-year work permits to
people coming to work on the Games in the run up to, and
during, the Games. "We will
further improve relevant procedures according to the
Olympic conventions and charter so that we can guarantee
a successful Games," Li said.
HK Welcomes
Extension of Individual Visit Scheme
Xinhua News, April
21, 2006 - Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) welcomed the
further extension of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS)
to the remaining six provincial capitals of the
Pan-Pearl River Delta (Pan-PRD) region from May, 1,
2006. (Click
for full report.)
Hangzhou: New
Visa Windows to Serve Foreigners
Zhejiang
News, Aug. 30, 2006 - New visa windows for foreign
people will be opened as of August 28 in Hangzhou. The
new windows are on the right side of the gate of
Hangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, neighboring
the hall of Chinese Citizens' Exit Certificates. It is
reported that the hall of Chinese Citizens' Exit
Certificates will be rearranged: the original visa
windows for foreign people will serve as widows for
charging entry-exit certificate fees and issuing
certificates.
Macao, Brazil
Swaps Visa-free Access
Xinhua News Mar.
29, 2006 - China's Macao
Special Administrative Region (MSAR) and Brazil have
started to offer each other visa-free access for a
maximum stay of 90 days. A press release issued here on
Wednesday by Macao's Information Bureau said the mutual
visa-free access pact has been effective since March 24,
2006. There are currently 69 countries and territories
having agreed to grant visa-free access or
visa-on-arrival to MSAR passport holders, said the
release.
New Visa
Center Opens in Pudong
Shanghai
Daily Oct. 10, 2005
- Frustrated Chinese
travelers and foreigners can breathe a sigh of relief -
there's a new, more efficient center for passports,
visas and residence permits. (Click
for full story)
HK
tightens visa policy for 4 countries
Chinaview.cn, July 4, 2005 - The citizens of Cote
d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and
Somalia will require a Hong Kong visa from July 11,
including for airside transit, according to a government
press release on Monday. Hong Kong Immigration
Department said on Monday that this
was due to security and immigration control reasons.
Nationals of Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of
Congo and Ethiopia have been able to visit Hong Kong
visa-free for up to14 days, while Somalis have needed a
visa for visits unless they are in airside transit. Hong
Kong adopts a liberal visa policy under which nationals
of about 170 countries and territories can visit
visa-free and stay for up to 180 days. The department
regularly reviews its visa policies and will take into
account social, economic and political situations around
the world. It will review its policies in light of
ongoing developments.
Beijing
appears to be restricting entry rules for Taiwanese
Taipei Times, Taiwan Mar. 18, 2005 - Beijing may
be tightening policies on granting travel papers for
Taiwanese wishing to visit China in the aftermath of its
recently established "Anti-Secession" Law, according to
the nation's top cross-strait policymaking body... (full
report)
Shanghai to
Change Foreigner Visa Alteration Process
CriEnglish.com Dec. 22, 2004 - Shanghai will change
the way it handles some aspects of foreigner visa
alteration, which includes such services as change of
visa type, extension, etc.
The
application process will definitely change. And
according to a source within the Shanghai visa office,
other changes - such as duration of stay for various
visas are in store, as well.
The
changes are designed to bring greater flexibility and
ease to the visa alteration process.
United
States, China relax visa requirements for business and
tourism
US-Politics.news.designerz.com, Jan. 7, 2005 - The
United States and China have agreed to a reciprocal visa
arrangement with both sides offering 12-month
multiple-entry business and tourist visas. (full
coverage)
Starting
September 1, 2003 Japanese businessmen and tourists will
not require visas for brief visits to China.
As is
now the case for tourists from Singapore and Brunei,
Japanese visitors will be permitted to stay in China for
up to 15 days without a visa.
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