Foreign tourists coming to China by ship are exempt from 15-day visa

The National Immigration Administration of China said that starting from May 15, foreign tourist groups (2 people or more) entering China by cruise ship will be exempted from visas from cruise ports in 13 cities such as Tianjin, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Shanghai..., with a stay of no more than 15 days.

According to the National Immigration Administration of China, the tourist group must travel with the ship to the next port of call until the ship departs. The scope of operation is coastal provinces (autonomous regions, centrally-run cities) and the capital Beijing.

In order to facilitate foreign tourists taking transit cruises who meet the conditions of China's transit visa exemption policy, as well as support cruise tourism, seven cruise ports including Dalian, Lianyungang, Wenzhou, Zhoushan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Beihai will be added as ports applying the country's transit visa exemption policy.

The comprehensive implementation of the visa-free policy for foreign tourist groups traveling by cruise ship will help promote the development of the marine tourism economy and is an important measure to promote the country's institutional opening-up, said the head of China's National Immigration Administration.

In recent years, China has implemented various policies to revive the tourism industry, which has been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including a visa exemption policy.

On May 7, China extended its visa exemption policy until December 31, 2025 for citizens of 12 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg. Accordingly, citizens of these countries will be exempted from visas for up to 15 days for business trips, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, as well as transiting in China.