China plans to relax several visa-issuing policies for entering the country, including visas on arrival for foreign businesspeople.
The decision is part of a series of measures announced by the country’s Ministry of Public Security to stimulate the country’s economy in the post-COVID period.
China removed COVID-related travel restrictions in January this year since then started to ease visa-issuing policies.
The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Thursday that the plan is to provide visa issuance for specific users and multiple-entry visas for foreign business personnel coming to China. In this case, Macau and Hengqin’s multiple-entry visas may achieve new progress soon.
According to Macau and Guagdong’s concept, a business traveler may be able to stay in a hotel in Hengqin and go back to attend meetings in Macau, or a normal tourist can have a longer stay and visit Macau and Hengqin on the same trip. This will rely on the new visa scheme.
The tours and e-visas for mainlanders to visit Macau were suspended since the start of the COVID outbreak in early 2020, with the absence of the eVisa system meaning mainland visitors have had to return to their place of origin to apply in person for a Macau visa.
China resumed eVisas in November last year, and Macau only received its first tour group from mainland China this February.
China issued 42.8 million travel visas to Macau, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in the first half of the year, a significant increase of 1,509 percent from last year. The figure has recovered to 96.5 percent of 2019 levels.
