Citizens from the Kurdistan region may soon be eligible to apply for a Chinese tourist visa within the region.
China’s consul general to Erbil, Liu Jun, has said that China plans to issue tourist visas in the Kurdistan region soon, VisaGuide.World.
We focus on the business visa; we did not issue any tourist visa here. But this year… we are going to issue tourist visas very soon.
The decision is expected to further expand China’s visa services beyond the current business visa offerings.
Jun for Kurdistan24 highlighted the importance of partnership between China and the Kurdistan region.
The relationship between the Kurdistan Region and China is very important.
Efforts to Foster Cultural & Educational Exchanges
China’s consul general to Erbil, Liu Jun also emphasized the ongoing efforts of his country to create more opportunities for the Kurdistan community, particularly through educational programs.
“ We have opened this event for Kurdish students who have received scholarships in China, which will be an opportunity for the people of China and Kurdistan to connect with each other,” .
He said these scholarships are part of a border plan to foster cultural and educational exchanges between both territories.
Talking about the student exchanges, Jun revealed that China has been continuously providing training programs for professionals from the Kurdistan region. He highlighted that in 2024 alone, 130 nationals from the Kurdistan region were sent to China.
The recent decision is expected to further tighten bilateral cooperation and promote travel and cultural exchange.
Visa-Free Agreement With Several Countries
While China plans to issue tourist visas in the Kurdistan region, within a year alone the country abolished visa requirements for tourists from a large number of countries.
Earlier this month, China’s National Immigration Administration (NIA) announced that tourist groups from ten Southeast Asian countries will be able to enter visa-free to Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province.
In a statement, NIA said the new changes were taken in a bid to promote the tourism of Xishuangbanna.
Following these changes, groups of tourists of at least two persons, from the following Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries: Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia- will be able to enter visa-free to Xishuangbanna and stay for six days without visas.
In November 2024, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it would extend the visa-free policy to nine more countries until the end of this year.