China launches visa-free policy to five EU countries and Malaysia 中国推出对五个欧盟国家和马来西亚的免签政策

On 24 November 2023, China announced that it would implement a trial policy of unilateral visa-free entry for ordinary passport holders from six countries, namely France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia from 1 December 2023 to 30 November 2024 (“Trial Period”). Ordinary passport holders from those six countries who travel to China for business or tourism purposes or to visit friends or relatives, or who pass through China in transit, during the Trial Period will be granted visa-free entry for up to 15 days.

2023年11月24日，中国宣布将自2023年12月1日至2024年11月30日期间，对来自法国、德国、意大利、荷兰、西班牙和马来西亚的普通护照持有人实施单方面免签试点政策。在试点期间，上述六个国家的普通护照持有人，若因商务、旅游、探亲访友或在过境时来华，将被允许享受最长15天的免签入境。

Key takeaways:

主要观点：

Ordinary passport holders from any of the six countries who do not satisfy the visa-free entry conditions will still need to obtain a Chinese visa corresponding to the purpose of their visit before they arrive in China. For example, persons coming to China to work will usually need a work visa.

若来自这六个国家的普通护照持有人未符合免签入境条件，仍需在抵达中国前获得符合其访问目的的中国签证。例如，前来中国工作的人通常会需要工作签证。

Before the implementation of the new policy, ordinary passport holders from Singapore and Brunei were already granted unilateral visa-free entry for up to 15 days. China’s policy of granting unilateral 15-day visa-free entry to Japanese citizens was suspended on 29 March 2020 as part of its Covid restrictions and has not been resumed as of the posting date of this article. Therefore, ordinary passport holders from Japan will need to apply for a Chinese visa or, if they meet the particular conditions, carry out the visa-free transit procedures under the 72/144-hour visa-free transit policy.

在新政策实施之前，新加坡和文莱的普通护照持有人已被允许享受最长15天的单方面免签入境。由于COVID限制，中国对日本公民实行的单方面15天免签入境政策于2020年3月29日暂停，并截至本文发布日期尚未恢复。因此，来自日本的普通护照持有人将需要申请中国签证，或者如果符合特定条件，可以根据72/144小时免签过境政策进行免签过境手续。

China’s 72/144-hour visa-free transit policy is currently applicable to 54 countries. The main conditions to be satisfied for such entry are as follows: The applicant needs to be a citizen of one of the countries eligible for 72/144-hour visa-free transit and hold an international travel document (valid for at least three months) proving the applicant’s nationality and identity. The entry conditions of the third country/region to which the applicant is traveling need to be fulfilled as well. The applicant needs to hold a connecting ticket (or relevant proof) with a confirmed date and seat for travel to the third country/region within 72/144 hours, depending on the length of the period of visa-free transit applied for.

中国目前的72/144小时免签过境政策适用于54个国家。满足该入境政策的主要条件如下：申请人需要是符合72/144小时免签过境资格的国家公民，并持有有效期至少三个月的国际旅行证件，证明申请人的国籍和身份。申请人前往的第三国/地区的入境条件也需要得到满足。申请人需要持有一张连接票（或相关证明），在72/144小时内，根据申请的免签过境时长，确认前往第三国/地区的日期和座位。