China Is Making It Easier for Americans to Visit — Here’s How
Going forward, China will no longer require travelers to show proof of a round-trip air ticket or proof of a hotel reservation.
Xuanyu Han/Getty Images
China will make it easier for American tourists to visit, simplifying the visa process for 2024.
Going forward, the country will no longer require travelers from the United States to submit proof of a round-trip air ticket, proof of a hotel reservation, proof of their itinerary, or an invitation letter to apply for a tourist visa, according to the Chinese Embassy in the United States. The new rules went into effect on Jan. 1.
“To further facilitate people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States… the Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in the United States will simplify application documents required for [a] tourist visa (L-visa),” the embassy wrote in a statement.
The embassy added: “visa applications are processed on a case-by-case basis.”
Travelers from the U.S. are still required to obtain a visa to visit China, but may stay visa-free for as long as six days if they are transiting through the country, according to the government. The duration of the visa-free period and specific rules vary by port of entry.
The simplified process comes weeks after China dropped visa requirements for visitors from six countries, according to the National Immigration Administration: France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Spain. China has similarly expanded its visa-free transit policy to cover 54 countries.
China boasted one of the strictest COVID-19 border policies in the world, only reopening to tourism in March last year and finally dropping mandatory COVID-19 testing for incoming travelers in August. However, the country has struggled to match pre-pandemic international flight levels, Reuters reported, and is currently at only 60 percent of 2019 levels.
Despite being easier to visit, the U.S. Department of State warns travelers to “reconsider travel” to mainland China “due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions.” The State Department classifies Hong Kong under a lesser warning, telling Americans to “exercise increased caution” there.
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