Citizens from Singapore and Brunei will be eligible to enter China visa-free starting from Wednesday, July 26, after authorities in China will resume the 15-day visa-free entry for them.
The new decision has been confirmed by embassies in these two countries and comes three years after the visas were suspended in order to halt the further spread of the Coronavirus and its new variants, VisaGuide.World reports.
According to the China embassy to Singapore, holders of Singapore and Brunei passports will be eligible to travel to China visa-free for business, sightseeing, visiting friends and relatives, and in transit.
“From 00:00 (Beijing time) on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, the Chinese government will resume the 15-day visa-free policy for Singaporean citizens holding ordinary passports who enter China for business, tourism, family visit, and transit purposes. Visas which have been issued to Singaporean citizens are still valid. Visa applications that have been lodged before will be processed normally,” the statement reads.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore considered that the decision would facilitate people and business flows between both states and also pave the way for deeper bilateral cooperation.
Authorities in China abolished the majority of its zero-COVI measures in December last year; however, they only started reissuing tourist visas in March this year.
At present, passengers from a large number of states already benefit from visa exemptions if they are traveling to China for a period of fewer than 30 days.
Among these countries are Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Maldives, and Fiji, whose nationals are obliged to apply for a visa if they plan to travel to China for more than 30 days for study, work, or migration purposes.
Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr Lawrence Wong, during his first official visit to China as Deputy Minister, in May this year, expressed his hope that China would abolish visa requirements for citizens of Singapore.
The travel and tourism sector contributes significantly to China’s GDP, while the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 2023 Economic Impact Research (EIR) previously revealed that the contribution of this industry to the country’s GDP is expected to increase by more than 150 percent this year.
WTTC report also noted that international spending in China decreased notably last year as a result of prolonged COVID-related restrictions. The same source showed that for a period from 2019 until 2022, between 74 to 77 percent of foreign visitors to China were citizens of Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Japan, the United States, and Vietnam, among others.