On January 28, China and Thailand signed an agreement on mutual visa exemption for ordinary passport holders. The agreement will officially take effect on March 1. By then, Thailand's phased unilateral visa-free policy for Chinese tourists, which was implemented in September last year, will officially become a long-term arrangement of "two-way travel".
Thailand is the third country after Singapore and Antigua and Barbuda to sign a mutual visa exemption agreement with China this year, benefiting ordinary passport holders.
Two countries or regions that have concluded a mutual visa exemption agreement can enjoy a visa-free stay in the other country or region for usually 30 days as long as their citizens hold a valid passport or international travel document stipulated in the agreement; however, if the stay exceeds 30 days , or study, live, work, etc. locally, you still need to apply to the other country's visa authority or competent department before entering the country.
The scope of comprehensive mutual visa exemption includes not only diplomatic passports, official passports, ordinary official passports, etc., but also ordinary passports.
With the visa-free arrangement taking effect, people traveling abroad no longer need to go to the embassy or consulate before traveling, they no longer need to prepare all kinds of visa materials, and they no longer need to worry about when to apply for a visa or whether they can catch up with the travel time. Traveling abroad will be more convenient. , trade flows are also smoother.
Mr. Chen, a Zhejiang businessman engaged in cross-border trade, said that after learning about the mutual visa exemption between China and Thailand, he immediately sent relevant news links to Thai customers. "They can come anytime they want in the future, which makes cooperation more convenient."
In fact, visa facilitation measures are not limited to comprehensive mutual visa exemption. At present, China has concluded mutual visa exemption agreements covering different passport types with 157 countries, and has reached agreements or arrangements with 44 countries to simplify visa procedures. In addition, more than 60 countries and regions offer visa-free or visa-on-arrival convenience to Chinese citizens.
A series of visa facilitation measures have undoubtedly brought China closer to other countries. At the same time, more and more countries are providing various forms of visa convenience for Chinese citizens.
The French government recently announced that Chinese master's degree diploma holders with study experience in France can obtain a five-year visa; Switzerland will provide more visa facilities for Chinese citizens and Chinese companies investing in Switzerland; Ireland has expressed its willingness to actively consider facilitating Chinese citizens visiting Ireland Provide more convenience and welcome more Chinese companies to invest and start business in Ireland...
"Singapore is a developed economy and an international financial center in the world." Talking about the mutual visa exemption between China and Singapore, Qiao Lina, director of the Shanghai Representative Office of Singapore's Lijie Law Firm, said that this conveys Singapore's strong confidence in China and also conveys to other countries Countries, especially Southeast Asian countries, have sent a very important signal.
According to the "World Tourism Barometer" report recently released by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (now the United Nations Tourism Organization), the number of international tourists will return to pre-COVID-19 levels in 2024. The report predicts that China's outbound and inbound tourism markets will develop rapidly in 2024.
Since December last year, China has successively launched a number of visa optimization measures to further facilitate the exchanges of people between China and foreign countries: it has implemented a trial unilateral visa-free policy for France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia; Chinese embassies and consulates abroad have adopted a phased The first step is to reduce or reduce the visa fee for foreigners coming to China, and charge 75% of the current charging standards; officially implement 5 measures to facilitate foreigners coming to China to further open up the blocking points for foreigners coming to China for business, study, tourism, etc...
Data show that in 2023, China will have 424 million entries and exits, a year-on-year increase of 266.5%, of which foreigners increased by 693.1% year-on-year.
The relevant person in charge of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that China's confidence and determination to promote high-level opening up to the outside world have never changed. China welcomes friends from all over the world to travel, do business, invest, and study in China, and will continue to work hard to provide more convenience for Chinese citizens to go abroad. .