China will restart the issuance of visas to foreigners tomorrow after three years of restrictions due to COVID-19

March 14 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Chinese authorities have announced that as of this Wednesday they will resume the issuance of visas to foreigners for the first time in three years, amid the reduction of the harsh restrictions applied by Beijing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chinese government has indicated in a statement that “the delivery of visas and entry policies for foreigners will be adjusted” as of March 15 and has detailed that “Chinese visas issued before March 28, 2020 remain valid and They will be reactivated.”

Likewise, it has detailed that the agencies abroad in charge of issuing documents “will resume the analysis and issuance of the various types of Chinese visas”, while specifying that the island of Hainan and the cruise ships that pass through the port of Shanghai will remain free of the visa requirement.

On the other hand, it has stated that “the visa-free policy for visits to Guangzhou by groups of foreigners from Hong Kong and the visa-free policy in Guangxiguilin for groups of foreigners from countries of the Association of Asian Nations Southeast (ASEAN) will be reactivated.”

The announcement came after the Chinese authorities claimed in February that they had achieved a “decisive victory” in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and maintained that the measures applied in recent months have allowed “a smooth transition in a relatively short period of time.” short”.

The decision is part of Beijing’s efforts to normalize travel between China and abroad, after withdrawing its recommendation to its citizens not to travel to other countries in January. In addition, in February it ended restrictions on travel between the mainland and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao.