In March, the Chinese government expanded the visa-free policy for stays of up to 15 days to six more European countries, but Portugal remains absent.
China will expand the visa exemption policy for citizens of eleven European countries until 2025, a measure that excludes Portugal, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this Tuesday.
The spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Lin Jian, explained that the citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg You will be able to stay in the Asian country for tourism, business or transit for 15 days.
The policy will remain in effect until December 2025, the spokesperson said.
Last November, China announced that nationals of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia would benefit from a unilateral visa exemption until December 2024.
Last March, the Chinese government expanded the visa-free policy for stays of up to 15 days to six more European countries (Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg), but Portugal remained absent.
Portugal is left out of China’s visa-free policy for Europeans
The Portuguese ambassador in Beijing, Paulo Nascimento, then declared to the Lusa agency “”I don’t understand” the criteria for leaving out Portugal.
The diplomat recalled that China has the right to decide its visa policy autonomously, but then admitted that he was going to request a specific consultation on the matter. decision to the country’s authorities.
Experts maintain that the The slow visa application procedures and the price of plane tickets. They are the main reasons why foreign tourism has not yet reached the levels prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, during which China imposed an almost total closure of its borders.
In recent months, the Asian country has adopted a series of measures to help international travelers.
Electronic payment services WeChat and Alipay payment Last year they announced several measures to make their payment systems available to foreign users visiting China, who sometimes have difficulty paying in the country and using certain services.
Source: Observadora
