MANILA, 22 March 2023: China is reopening to foreign tourists, including Filipinos, as it resumes accepting applications for all types of visas, the Chinese Embassy in Manila reported at the weekend.
“The long wait is over as China finally resumes issuing all types of visas for foreigners, including the tourism visa, port visa, and multiple visa-exemption policies starting from 15 March 2023,” Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said in a Facebook post, quoted by the Philippines News Agency.
Huang said applicants could apply for visas online through https://cova.mfa.gov.cn.
China will resume the visa-exemption policy for Hainan, the visa-exemption cruise policy for Shanghai, the visa-exemption policy for foreigners to visit Guangdong from Hong Kong and Macau, and the visa-exemption policy for ASEAN tour groups to Guilin and Guangxi, PNA reported.
China started the reopening phase for leisure travellers on 8 January 2023, three years after the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic struck and triggered the country to impose one of the world’s most severe lockdowns.
Last month, it allowed outbound group travel for Chinese citizens to more than a dozen countries, including the Philippines, reviving hopes for the pandemic-hit tourism sector.
Before the pandemic, China was the second-largest source of visitors to the Philippines, accounting for 1.7 million travellers in 2019.
(Source: PNA)
