Latest news with #ASEANvisa
Independent Singapore
4 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
China rolls out 5-year multi-entry 'ASEAN visa' for business travellers
Photo: Depositphotos/ronniechua SINGAPORE: Business travellers from the 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries and ASEAN observer Timor-Leste will now have access to a five-year multiple-entry 'ASEAN visa', with each visit lasting up to 180 days, Channel News Asia reported, citing China's foreign ministry announcement on Tuesday. The visa will be available to eligible travellers, along with their spouses and children, from ASEAN member states, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, as well as Timor-Leste. According to Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian, this will 'further facilitate cross-border travel in the region'. China already has visa-free travel arrangements with several countries in the region, including Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Last year, the city-state and China agreed to a 30-day mutual visa-free entry for their citizens. Malaysia and Thailand also have similar agreements with China. In addition, China launched the 'Lancang-Mekong visa' scheme in November last year, offering five-year multiple-entry visas to business travellers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Under this scheme, visitors can stay for up to 180 days per visit. China has been ramping up its visa-free travel arrangements with multiple countries to attract more visitors from various parts of the world. On Jun 1, China initiated a visa-free entry trial policy, allowing citizens from several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay. Beijing also recently extended visa-free entry to all member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. /TISG Read also: Is China finally lifting its K-pop ban? BTS company Hybe opens first office in Beijing Featured image by Depositphotos
CNA
6 days ago
- Business
- CNA
China launches ‘ASEAN visa' for 10 ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste
SINGAPORE: China has rolled out a special multiple-entry 'ASEAN visa' for business personnel from the 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries and ASEAN observer Timor-Leste, its foreign ministry announced on Tuesday (Jun 3). The ASEAN member states are Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. Eligible travellers from the 11 Southeast Asian countries visiting China on business - along with their spouses and children - will be offered the 'ASEAN visa'. This visa allows multiple entries within five years, with each stay lasting up to 180 days. With frequent visits between the people of China and Southeast Asian countries, the new scheme aims to 'further facilitate cross-border travel in the region', Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said during a routine press conference. The new 'ASEAN visa' scheme comes on top of existing visa-free agreements that China has with countries in the region including Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. Singaporeans and Chinese citizens currently enjoy mutual visa-free travel arrangements for up to 30 days, under an agreement that took effect in February last year. Travellers from Malaysia and Thailand also enjoy similar visa-free travel arrangements with China. The 'Lancang-Mekong visa' scheme, launched in November 2024, offers business travellers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam five-year multiple-entry visas with a maximum stay of 180 days. To attract more global tourists, China has ramped up visa-free travel arrangements with multiple countries. On Jun 1, China began implementing a trial policy granting unilateral visa-free entry to citizens of Latin American countries including Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay. Beijing has also recently rolled out visa-free access to all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. In the first quarter of this year, China received over 9 million foreign visitors, an increase of more than 40 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to Lin. 'The growing list of nations granted visa-free entry into the country reflects China's strong commitment to advancing high-level opening up, while the continuous optimisation of measures to facilitate cross-border personnel exchanges underscores China's concrete efforts to help build an open world economy,' Lin said. 'China will continue to improve entry policies and add more countries to the visa-free list, to allow more foreign friends to visit China to experience our excellent and diverse products and services.'
