China is partially lifting the visa requirement for German citizens. The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced this on Friday in Beijing. Accordingly, from December 1st, Germans will generally no longer need a visa for a trip of up to 15 days if they want to come to the People’s Republic for business, pleasure or to visit friends and relatives. With the decision, the country wants to open up further and promote its development, said a spokeswoman for the ministry.
The regulation will initially be tested for one year and also applies to citizens from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. Beijing did not say why these six countries were chosen for the test run. Previously, a similar regulation only applied to Singapore, Brunei and – before Corona – Japan.
Chinese people entering the Schengen area still need a visa
The decision has no impact on Chinese travelers in Germany. Chinese people entering the European Schengen area still need a visa.
For Germans, the decision means that in the future they will only have to have a passport that is valid for at least six months upon arrival in China. They must also fill out a visa form online and bring a copy of the first page of their passport with them.
There is also a little relief for visitors with longer travel plans: They can now submit their visa application without an appointment at one of the five Chinese visa centers in Germany. However, the fees remain quite high at around 125 euros per application.
Journalist visas, which Beijing has only approved very restrictively for several years, are also exempt from the relaxation. Many correspondents no longer receive work permits, and short-term visas for journalists are almost no longer issued. In the past, German citizens also had problems applying for tourist visas if they had surnames that suggested that they or their family came from Turkey or the Middle East.
The country was heavily isolated during the pandemic
Until now, a visa was generally required to enter China. Exceptions are so-called visa-free transits: Some cities such as Beijing offer Germans, among others, the option of a transit stay for less than 72 or 144 hours. To do this, travelers must provide proof of an onward flight to a third country at the airport.
It was only in March that China began issuing all kinds of visas again on a larger scale. During the pandemic, the billion-dollar country almost completely closed its borders. Even foreigners who had previously lived in China but were abroad at the time of the decision were not given permission to return. Those who were allowed to enter sometimes had to be in central quarantine for up to three weeks after entry.
The lockdown also had a major impact on the tourism sector. According to Beijing, around 32 million foreign tourists traveled to China in 2019 and had a turnover equivalent to 70 billion euros. In the first six months of this year, China only registered 8.4 million foreigners entering and leaving the country, compared to 977 million in 2019.
The hope for new tourists and more business travelers should therefore be high. But at least among Germans, the desire to travel had fallen short of expectations even before Corona. Many complained about the massive surveillance in the country and a general unease about traveling in a state that has become increasingly aggressive internationally.