The National Immigration Administration issued an announcement a few days ago, announcing that it will optimize immigration management policies and measures from January 8, 2023, and orderly resume the acceptance and approval of Chinese citizens traveling abroad and visiting friends to apply for ordinary passports. The media published an article updating the entry policy for Chinese tourists. bkzzz has collected information from 12 countries for your reference.
With the gradual relaxation of epidemic prevention measures, since the National Health and Medical Commission announced on December 26 that entry nucleic acid testing and centralized quarantine will be canceled from next month 8, and at the same time resume outbound travel in an orderly manner, the searches for overseas destinations on major travel platforms have exploded. Increased by 7 to 10 times, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong and Macau have become hotspots.
But at the same time, countries including Italy, South Korea, Japan, India and the United States have announced that they will strengthen virus screening for passengers entering from China and urgently tighten entry restrictions.
Japan, South Korea, the United States and other countries require
Chinese nucleic acid entry testing and isolation
United States
Epidemic prevention: On December 28, local time, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website (CDC) issued the latest statement stating that passengers aged two and over flying to the United States from mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau need to receive a new crown virus test no more than two days before the flight. Test and present a “negative test certificate” to the airline before boarding the plane. The means of testing for the new crown can be PCR tests, so-called “nucleic acid tests”; or antigen self-tests through telemedicine services.
At the same time, information on the CDC website shows that passengers who test positive more than 10 days before flight departure can provide recovery documents in lieu of negative test results.
These new rules will go into effect on January 5 at 12:01AM ET.
Whether you can apply for a visa in the near future: the centers in all regions are temporarily closed; the consular offices in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenyang will resume regular consular services on January 3. There are many preparation materials for the visa, and a face-to-face visa is required.
Italy
Epidemic prevention: Viaggiare Sicuri, the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, starting from December 24, Milan Malpensa Airport will conduct a new crown nucleic acid test for all passengers from China (regardless of nationality). This policy is temporarily in effect until January 30, 2023, after which it will be re-evaluated for continuation.
Japan
Epidemic prevention: On the afternoon of December 27, it was urgently announced that all passengers entering Japan from China and those who have been to mainland China within 7 days will be screened for the new coronavirus. If they test positive, they will be forced to implement 7-day quarantine measures. This policy will come into effect at 00:00 on the 30th. Kishida Fumio said that this is a “temporary special measure” for Chinese immigrants, and emphasized that this will not affect Japan’s ongoing new crown policy.
The current Japanese entry policy is that passengers can enter directly without quarantine as long as they hold a negative PCR certificate within 72 hours or a vaccination certificate of 3 doses of vaccines; however, the announced special policy for mainland China will require mainland passengers After landing, an additional quick screening is required.
Visa: From October 11, 2022, Japan visa services have fully resumed, and individual tourist visas have been reopened. Chinese residents need to apply for individual tourist visas or multiple tourist visas in accordance with regulations. Chinese residents who already hold a Japanese visa can enter the country if it is still valid.
Whether you can apply for a visa in the near future: Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou centers will suspend processing; there are few preparation materials, and the business processing will take about 10-20 days
India
Anti-epidemic: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has announced that international travelers from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and South Korea must carry RT-PCR test reports when traveling to India and are found to be symptomatic or positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in India people will be quarantined. From December 24, India will select 2% of passengers on each international flight for random nucleic acid testing.
Visa: The Air Suvidha form is discontinued, and the process of entering India will resume before the epidemic, with a passport. All visas, including electronic visas, tourist visas and medical visas, will be restored directly. Expired visas cannot be used any longer, and valid visas need to be re-applied.
Can you apply for a visa in the near future: Shanghai Visa Center is temporarily closed; preparation materials are simple
Malaysia
Anti-epidemic: It is expected that on Thursday (December 29) new anti-epidemic control measures will be announced for Chinese tourists entering the country, including the requirement that tourists from China must be tested for the new crown virus before departure, and those who test negative can enter.
Can you apply for a visa in the near future: visa on arrival
South Korea
Epidemic prevention: The Department of Disease Management has included China in the list of “key countries for quarantine inspection” on December 16. For example, entry personnel whose body temperature exceeds 37.5 degrees Celsius are usually classified as symptomatic, while the standard for key quarantine objects is 37.3 degrees Celsius. If the body temperature of an entry person from a key country exceeds 37.3 degrees Celsius, he and his companions need to undergo nucleic acid testing together.
South Korea’s epidemic prevention department stated that it will flexibly adjust the list every week considering factors such as the number of imported cases abroad, the number of confirmed cases in various places, and the increase in inbound and outbound tourists.
Visa: 1. Tourist entry, exit or transit in Jeju Island area, stay no more than 30 days; 2. Go to the United States, Canada and other third countries; 3. Transit at Incheon International Airport and participate in transfer and sightseeing projects; 4. Go to Incheon, Gimpo, etc. in South Korea Chinese group tourists at the local airport will transfer to Korean domestic flights to Jeju Island within 5 days; 5. Youth study tour groups; 6. Chinese group tourists holding Japanese group tourist visas passing through South Korea. The above 6 situations can be exempted from visas.
Whether you can apply for a visa in the near future: the Shanghai Center will suspend the processing; there are few preparation materials, and the review time is subject to the submitted reply from the consulate, and the processing time of consulates in different regions is not the same
Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France and other countries have no restrictions on Chinese
Canada
Epidemic prevention: cancel the entry restriction policy due to the new crown
Whether you can apply for a visa in the near future: the Hangzhou center will suspend business; the visa centers in Nanjing, Beijing, Guangzhou, Jinan, Chengdu, Shenyang, Wuhan, and Shanghai will process normally. There are many materials to be prepared, and fingerprint information is required, but no face-to-face visa is required.
British government spokesman Yu said that the UK has no plans to conduct new crown nucleic acid tests on passengers entering from China. Asked about a report in the British Telegraph that the government would consider restricting arrivals from China, the spokesman said: “There are no plans to re-test for COVID-19 and no alternative entry has been proposed for travelers arriving in the UK.” Require”. Not only that, the UK’s current immigration policy for all countries can basically be said to be 3 no policies:
There is also no need to complete a passenger locator form before entering the UK.
There is no need to do any new crown testing before or after arriving in the UK.
No quarantine of any kind is required upon arrival in the UK.
Can you apply for a visa in the near future: normal review; there are a lot of materials to be prepared, and the average review time will take about 7 weeks
France
Epidemic prevention: French domestic news stations reported that in the face of the surge in cases in China, French President Macron has asked the French government to take appropriate measures to protect the French. The French Ministry of Health stated earlier that the authorities are closely monitoring the evolution of the situation in China and will work with their European partners to study all possible effective measures within the existing legal framework.
Visa: A Schengen visa is required. All types of short-term and long-term visa applications (tourism, personal, business, work, study abroad, visiting relatives, etc.) are canceled and resumed. Short-term visas are for stays of up to 90 days.
Germany
According to the announcement on the official website of the German government, from June 1, 2022, immigrants do not need to show proof of vaccination, recovery or negative test, except for passengers from areas where the virus mutates. A spokesman for the German Federal Ministry of Health said on the 28th that Germany is paying close attention to the epidemic in China, but there are no signs of the need for corresponding travel restrictions.
A spokesman for the German Foreign Office pointed out that before making any adjustments, they will pay close attention to the local situation and coordinate.
Singapore
Epidemic prevention: Passengers who have been vaccinated against the new crown need to provide an international version of the vaccination certificate. Air and land passengers who have completed the vaccination do not need to undergo any COVID-19 testing before and after entering Singapore, nor do they need to perform 7-day home quarantine. Passengers under the age of 12 (born after January 1, 2010) do not need any proof. Passengers over the age of 12 must obtain a vaccination certificate before entering the country, and present the vaccination APP or vaccination certificate when checking in and clearing customs.
Unvaccinated travelers are required to take a COVID-19 test within 48 hours of departure and obtain a copy of the test report with a negative result. Short-term visa travelers who have not completed vaccinations must purchase new crown travel insurance, which includes medical insurance of at least S$30,000.
Visa: The website of the Singapore Embassy in China announced that the embassy’s counter services have resumed on 20 December 2022. Residents of mainland China can apply for a Singapore tourist visa. Tourist visas are electronic visas.
Whether you can apply for a visa in the near future: normal trial; less preparation materials, high rate of visa issuance with a guarantor, and visa issuance within 24 hours at the fastest
Australia
Australian Prime Minister Albanese stated on Thursday (December 29) that Australia’s regulations on the entry of Chinese tourists have not changed. Speaking to the ABC, Albanese said the government would take appropriate advice from health experts. “There is no change to the current travel advice, but we are continuing to monitor the situation and the impact of COVID-19 on Australia and around the world,” he said.
Whether you can apply for a visa in the near future: The Australian Embassy in Beijing has resumed visitor reception on December 29; the preparation of materials is simple, and the average processing time is about 7 working days
Thailand
In preparation for welcoming Chinese tourists, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand intends to provide booster shots of the new crown vaccine so that inbound tourists and tourism operators can receive free vaccinations.
According to the “Bangkok Post” report on December 29, Pippa, Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports, said that providing booster shots for inbound tourists and tourism operators is a cost-effective investment, because the current price of the new crown vaccine has dropped, and each dose only costs hundreds of dollars. baht. Pippa said authorities would explore the feasibility of the proposal with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Ministry of Public Health. If the plan is approved by the government, funds will be allocated to the Ministry of Health to purchase the vaccine. Authorities will also ask the Ministry of Public Health to prepare booster shots for tourism workers before the first batch of Chinese tourists arrive. Thailand is expected to welcome its first batch of Chinese tourists before the end of the first quarter of next year.
Visa: Holders of ordinary passports valid for more than 6 months can apply for a visa on arrival. The fee is 2500 baht.
Can you apply for a visa in the near future: Normal processing
The information in the text comes from the official websites and networks of consulates of various countries