China rolls out 5-year multi-entry ‘ASEAN visa’ for business travellers

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

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