What to Expect
- Citizens of Singapore and Brunei can visit China visa-free for 15 days for business, family visits and transit, and tourism.
- Visas which have been issued to will remain valid and visas which have been requested will still be processed.
The 15-day visa-free policy available to nationals of Brunei, Singapore and Japan was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy has not yet been restarted for Japanese nationals.
However, Japanese nationals do qualify for the 72/144-hour visa-free transit policy and for port visas, along with nationals of 52 other countries.
More Information
China also has bilateral visa exemption agreements with holders of ordinary passports from over 150 countries, including for ordinary passport holders from the following 18 countries: Armenia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dominica, Ecuador, Fiji, Grenada, Maldives, Mauritius, Qatar, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Suriname, Tonga and the United Arab Emirates. Nationals of these countries can enter China for business, tourism or family visit for between 30 and 90 days.
Further visa-free agreements exist for tour groups from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Turkmenistan; and for tour groups from certain countries to Guilin, Hainan, Shanghai, the Pearl River Delta region. Multiple visa-free entries are permitted for holders of an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC).
China resumed the issuance of all types of visas on March 15, 2023, after suspension during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Erickson Insights
Erickson Immigration Group will continue monitoring developments and sharing updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or case-specific questions.