For travelers seeking to return to Mainland China for tourism purposes, there are now good news as the respective Embassies/Consulates and Visa Offices worldwide have started to accept applications for Tourist Visas once again.
China had ceased the issuance of tourist visas ever since March 2020, which marked the start of the pandemic, and previously issued tourist visas were deemed invalid/deactivated for the time being, which has now been reversed.
Travelers bound for China on official business, study, or to visit/reunite with family have been able to apply for a visa for quite some time now. Still, the resumption of tourist visa issuance is a new development that just kicked in since yesterday, March 15th 2023.
There are multiple official sources to quote this from.
For example, the notice of the Chinese Visa Application Center in Bangkok:
In order to facilitate foreigners coming to China, starting from March 15, 2023, at 12.00 a.m., the Chinese visa and the entry policies for foreigners coming to China will be adjusted as the following details:
1. The Chinese visa that was issued before March 28, 2020 and remains valid will be reactivated.
2.The relevant visa-issuing authority stationed abroad will resume examining and issuing various types of Chinese visas. For more details, please check the Chinese visa requirements announcement.
3. The port visa office will resume examining and issuing various types of port visas.
4. Hainan visa-free policy, Visa-free policy specified for foreign cruise-group-tour through Shanghai Port, Guangdong visa-free policy specified for foreign tour groups from Hong Kong or Macao SAR, and Guangxiguilin visa-free policy specified for foreign tour groups of ASEAN countries will be reactivated.
I assume the point saying the previously issued visa “remains valid and will be reactivated” concerns those visas that are, in fact, still valid as per the printed date on the label (long-term visas).
The U.S. Embassy in Washington DC has a similar notice:
In order to facilitate the people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries, the following new adjustments to Chinese visa and entry policies have been made, as effective from 0:00 on March 15, 2023:
I. Foreigners with valid visas issued before March 28, 2020 will be allowed to enter China.
II. All categories of Chinese visas can be applied for.
III. Port visas are no longer suspended.
IV. The following visa-free policies will be resumed: Hainan 59 country visa-free entry policy, 15-Day visa-free travel for cruise groups at Shanghai ports, visa-free entry to Guangdong Province for foreigners’ group from Hong Kong and Macao SARs, visa-free entry to Guilin of Guangxi Autonomous Region for tourist groups from ASEAN countries.
Americans and Canadians can apply for a 10 Year Visa from the Chinese Embassy as part of reciprocity since Chinese nationals are also able to obtain a 10-year visa from the U.S. and Canada. Other countries will likely only receive a 3-6 months validity for a Single/Double entry tourist visa. Some countries can apply for multiple entries, but it has always been murky as to who is approved for that, despite it being highlighted on the list of consular fees.
Here is an article I wrote a couple of years ago about applying for a Chinese Visa in Bangkok:
Need A Chinese Visa? Check The Process And Cost At Different Locations – Case: Bangkok, Thailand!
In terms of documents, China is very strict about having a whole lot of documentation anywhere worldwide whenever you apply for a visa.
The only place where this was more relaxed used to be Hong Kong and Macau where a simple one page application letter and photo was enough (I assume due to the land border) but all other locations I ever applied at required to have flight confirmation and hotel booking as well as a detailed travel schedule.
When you apply for a Chinese Visa in Bangkok, follow the instructions meticulously, or the application won’t be accepted. This includes copies of previous Chinese Visas, your passport, entry stamps, Thailand Visa and residence permit/work permit/student visa/university certification/household book (if you own property), sometimes bank statement, and health insurance policy. It is insane what they require. My application was 14 pages the last time, and the only thing they did not require that time was the bank statement. I brought it because I was denied two years ago for not bringing it.
Also, their policy seems to change constantly if they allow Tourists to apply or not. When I was there last time, they asked everybody coming in if they were Tourists, and some people left again, which let me assume that they were denied instantly. This is subject to change, and you should always verify because I have previously applied as a Tourist in BKK, and so did some friends of mine. It’s been a while, though.
Keep in mind that there are multiple visa free travel options for China, most of them involving Transit up to 144 hours (6 days) in the same city as well as trips to Hainan:
24 hour visa-free transit
Foreign citizens travelling to a third country or region through China by plane, ship or train may stay up to 24 hours in China without a visa. The application for a preliminary entry permit at the Chinese border is a requirement for the visa-free entry.
72 hour visa-free transit
2.1 What are the requirements for a 72 hour visa-free transit?
- a) Citizens of the following 53 countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Great Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Monaco, Belarus, USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Singapur, Brunei, UAE and Qatar
- b) The above-mentioned bear a travel document and a confirmed flight ticket to a third country or region (onward journey within 72 hours).
- c) valid for international airports in the following 15 cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Dalian, Guangzhou, Guilin, Chonqing, Chengdu, Kunming, Xian, Xiamen, Wuhan, Harbin, Qingdao and Changsha.
2.2 How do I apply for the 72 hour visa-free transit on site?Travellers should apply for the visa-free transit at the Chinese border either themselves or with the support of the responsible airline. An entry permission issued by the border control authorities is required for a visa-free transit.
144 hour visa-free transit
Citizens of the 53 countries mentioned in 2.1 bearing a valid travel document and a confirmed flight ticket to a third country or region within 144 hours are entitled to stay in the following cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and
the following provinces: Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Liaoning
without a Chinese visa.
Attention: Foreign travelers making use of the 144 hour visa-free transit need to bear a valid travel document and a confirmed flight ticket to a third country or region (onward journey within 144 hours). The respective carrier is responsible for the application for the visa-free transit. The respective carrier has to acquire the preliminary entry permit.Journey to the province Hainan
Citizens of the following 59 countries with ordinary passports participating in a journey organized by a tour operator registered in Hainan may enter China at the border crossings open to foreigners in the Hainan province without a Chinese visa and stay up to 30 days: Germany, Russia, Great Britain, France, Norway, Ukraine, Italy, Austria, Finland, The Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Polen, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Singapur, Malaysia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, UAE, Qatar, Monaco, Belarus.
The hotels accommodating these tourists are responsible for their registration. Travelers not staying at hotels need to register at the local police or service station for foreigners within 24 hours after arrival.
From what I can see this option has been reactivated as well. For detailed questions and to validate any information, I strongly suggest to get in touch with the local Chinese Embassy/Consulate/Visa Center to obtain the latest, most up-to-date information.
Again, in order to be let in (and especially let out again without problems), you need to follow the instructions to the letter. This primarily relates to regulations regarding the transit/onward flight to a third country within the prescribed period.
How will the demand be to travel to China?
After what we’ve been through the last few years, I’m less than enthusiastic about traveling to China again. While I have many friends there who also suffered from the insane CCP government throughout the pandemic, this whole situation makes me question if I ever want to go back. Definitely not anymore for casual tourism. Maybe I’d go specifically for one of my friend’s weddings as it is a special occasion. I can imagine many others mirror these sentiments.
I think I’ve visited Mainland China over 30 times by now since 2008, so I’m intimately familiar with the visa process, which has always been troublesome and costly. I’d probably try and get my next visa – if I ever need it – in Hong Kong from China Travel Services.
Maybe the neighboring countries in Asia and those who are a bit more friendly with the CCP regime will have no reservations about going back to the mainland for touristic purposes. Thailand definitely being one of them. People have to decide by themselves how comfortable they feel visiting there again.
Conclusion
It is now once again possible to apply for Tourist Visas to the People’s Republic of China at the respective offices set up for the visa application process. Usually, this means designated visa processing centers or the consular section at consulates and embassies. In Hong Kong, it likely remains much easier to obtain the visa as they usually accommodate requests by travelers who don’t have their primary, documented residence there.
Previously issued and still valid visas have been reactivated and can once again be used. This mostly affects those who obtained one of the 10 Year long-term visas in the past. Also, the visa-free transit option has made a comeback as well as far as documentation on the various embassy sites is concerned. When planning your travel, I emphasize again that you should verify that independently to cover all bases.
